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American Journal of
Archaeology
Research in
thingham, American School of Oriental
alem, Archaeological Institute of America,
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA
AMERICAN
JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY
AND OF THE
HISTORY OF THE FINE ARTS
VOLUME X
1895
PRINCETON: The Business Manages
LONDON: Trubnir & Co. PARIS: E. Lraoux
TURIN, FLORENCE and ROME: B. Lokschm
LEIPZIG : Karl W. Hisrsimann
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
FQblUhod Quarterly. 4mio»I Subscription,
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EDITORS.
Managing Editor : Prof. A. L. Frothingham, Jr., of Princeton Univer-
sity, Princeton, N. J.
Editorial Committee for the Archaeological Institute of America and the
American School of Classical Studies at Athens: Prof.
B. Perrin, and Prof. Thomas D. Seymour, of Yale
University ; Pro£ J. R. Wheeler, of Columbia College,
New York.
Business Manager : Prof. Allan Marquand, of Princeton University,
Princeton, N. J.
All literary contributions should be addressed to the Managing
Editor ; all business communications to the Business Manager.
CONTRIBUTORS.
The following are among the contributors to past volumes :
M. E. Babelon, Conservateur au Cabinet des M&lailles, National Library, Paris.
Prof. "W. N. Bates, of Harvard University, Cambridge.
Mr. Samuel Beswick, Hollidaysburg, Pa.
Mr. Carleton L. Brownson, of Yale University, New Haven.
Prof. Carl D. Buck, of University of Chicago, 111.
Dr. A. A. Cabuana, Librarian and Director of Education, Malta.
Mr. Joseph T. Clarke, Harrow, England.
Dr. Nicholas B. Crosby, New York City.
Mr. Herbert F. de Cou, Athens.
Dr. Wilhelm Dorpfeld, Secretary German Archnological Institute, Athens.
M. &mils Duval, Director of the Musee Fol, Geneva.
Dr. M. L. Earle, of Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Prof. Alfred Emerson, of Cornell University.
Mr. Andrew Possum, of St Olaf College, Northfield, Mass.
Prof. Harold N. Fowler, of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. A. L. Frothingham, Sr., of Princeton.
Prof. A. L. Frothingham, Jr., of Princeton University.
Dr. A. Furtw angler, Professor of Archaology in the University of Berlin.
Mr. Ernest A. Gardner, Director of the British School of Archaology, Athens.
Padre Germano di 8. Stanklao, Passionista, Rome.
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Mr. Wm. H. Goobteab, Curator, Brooklyn Institute.
Mr. Henbt W. Hatneb, of Boston! Mass.
Prof. "W. Helbio, former Secretary of the German Archaeological Institute, Rome.
Dr. 610. B. Hitssst, of University of Chicago, 111.
Dr. Albert L. Long, of Robert College, Constantinople.
Prof. Allan Mabquand, of Princeton University.
Comte de Mabsy, Director of the Soc Franc. d' Archeologie, Bulletin Monumental, etc.
Prof. Obazio Mabucchi, member of Archjsol. Commission of Rome, etc.
Prof. G. Maspbro, former Director of Antiq., Egypt; Prof, at College de France, Paris.
M. Joachim Menant, of Rouen, France.
Mr. William Mbrcbr, of Gainsborough, England.
Prof. Adolph Michaelis, of the University of Strassburg.
Prof. Waltbr Millbr, of Leland Stanford, Jr., University, Palo Alto, Gal.
Prof. Thxodor Mommsen, Berlin.
M. Eugene Muntz, Librarian and Conservateur of the ficole des Beaux- Arts, Paris-
A. S. Mubbat, Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum.
Prof. Charlbs E. Norton, of Harvard University, Cambridge.
Mr. Richard Norton, of Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Rev. John P. Peters, 8t. Michael's Church, New York City.
Mr. John Pickabd, Professor in the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.
Mr. Thbo. J. Pinchb8, of the British Museum, London.
Prof. Wm. C. Poland, of Brown University, Providence, R. I.
Mr. W. M. Ramsay, Professor in the University of Aberdeen.
Dr. Franz v. Rbbbb, Professor in the University and Polytechnic of Munich, etc
M. Salomon Rbinach, Conservateur of the Musee National de St Germain.
Prof. Rurus B. Richardson, Director American School at Athens.
Prof. John C. Rolfb, of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Prof. Mtbon R. Sanpobd, of Middlebury College.
Dr. Th. Schbbibbb, Prof, of Archssol. in the Univ., and Director of Museum, Leipzig.
Mr. Robert Sswell, Madras Civil Service, F. R. G. S., M. R. A. S.
Mrs. Cornelius Stevenson, Curator Museum University of Pa., Philadelphia.
Prof. Frank B. Tarbell, of University of Chicago, 111.
Mr. S. B. P. Trowbridge, of New York.
Dr. Charles Waldstein, of Cambridge University, England.
Dr. Wm. Hates Ward, President Am. Oriental Society, and Ed. Independent, N. T.
Mr. Henry 8. Washington, Locust P. O., N. J.
Prof. J. R. Wheeler, Columbia College, New York.
Dr. Paul Woltebs, Secretary of the German Archsdological Institute at Athens.
Hon. John Worth inoton, U. S. Consul at Malta.
Prof. J. H. Weight, of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
The Director and Members of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
Copyright, 1895, by A. L. raoTHWOKAii, Jb., and Allah MABquAiro.
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CONTENTS OF VOLUME X, 1895.
No. i. JANUARY— MARCH.
Pa«e.
I.-4 DISCOVERY OF HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE ROMAN TEMPLE
CALLED "MAISON CARRJ&B" AT NIMES [Plates 1, 11; Fig. 1],
by William H. Goodyear, 1
1LSOMB RECENT RESULTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR, ESPECIALLY OF THE TEMPLE HILL,
[Plates III, IV, V; Figures »-«i], by John P. Peters, 18
NECROLOGY.
Brugseh-Pasha, by "W. Max Muller, 47
CORRESPONDENCE.
Note to "A Torso from Daphne", by Rufus B. Richardson, 51
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS.
W. Frohner: La Collection Tyszkiewicz, - 52
H. Stuart Jones : Select Passages from Ancient Writer* Illustrative of
the History of Greek Sculpture, 58
Schreiber: Atlas of Classical Antiquities, 58
Dehli and Chamberlin : Norman Monuments of Palermo and environs, 54
Le Oallerie Nazionati Italiane. Notizie. Documenti, 56
Wilhelm Bode : Denkmaler der Renaissance Sculptur Toscanas, ... 50
Leonardo da Yingi : Codex AtlanHcus, 60
Alois Risgl : Stilfragen, 61
Solone Ahbrosoli : Manuals di Numismatica, 62
Charles Diehl: VArt Byzantin dans Vltalie meridionale, 68
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS (Figure 22).
Africa (Egypt, Central Africa, Tripoli, Tunisia, Algeria) ; Asia
(Arabia, Babylonia, Persia, Syria, Palestine, Asia Minor, Kypros,
Asiatic Russia) ; Europe (Krete, Greece, Turkey, Italy),
by A. L. Frothingham, Jr., 65
No. a. APRIL— JUNE.
h-SOMB EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVB8 COLLECTION OF
THE TALE SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS A T NEW HA VEN [Plates Vl-Xll],
by William Rankin, 18T
IL— NOTES ON BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ITALY AND ES-
PECIALLY IN ROME [Plates XIII, XIV, XV; Figures tft-82],
by A. L. Frothingham, Jr., 162
U1.-PAPEP8 OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT
ATHENS.
L— A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE ATTIC BPAKRIA
[Plate XVI> by Rufus B. Richardson, 909
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0ONTBirn. t
NECROLOGY.
Augustus Chmpman Merriam, by Clarence H. Youno, 227
NOTES.
Notes on Italian Paintings in two Loan Exhibitions in New Fork,
by William Rankin, 280
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS [Plate xvii ; Figures 88-87].
Africa (Egypt) ; Europe (Greece, Italy, Sicily, Prance, Spain,
Portugal), . . by A. L. Frothinoham, Jr., and Allan Marquand, 288
No. 3. JULY— SEPTEMBER.
L-PAPBBS OF THE AMERICAN 8CH00L OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT
ATHENS,
11.— THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA WITH REFER-
ENCE TO THE 8TAOB QUESTION, . . by EDWARD CaPPS, 287
HI.— A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA [Plate XV1I1],
by Rufub B. Richardson, 826
IV.— EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERBTRIAN THEATRE IN 189U [Plate
XIX; Figure 88,] by Edward Capps, 888
IL-SOMB SCULPTURES FROM KOPTOS IN PHILADELPHIA [Figures, 8940],
by Sarah Y. Stetenbon, 847
III.— UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATI0N8 AT NIPPUR.
II.- THE NIPPUR ARCH [Plate XX; Figures 41-46],
by John P. Peters, 852
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS [Piottre 47].
Africa (Egypt, Tunisia, Tripoli) ; Asia (Babylonia, Persia, Palestine,
Syria, Asia Minor, Kypros) ; Europe (Erete, Greece, Turkey, Italy),
by A. L. Frothinoham, Jr., and Allan Marquand, 860
No. 4. OCTOBER—DECEMBER.
L— UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA.
IlL—THB COURT OF COLUMNS AT NIPPUR [Put* XXI; Figures 48-68],
by John P. Peters, 489
11.-PAPBRS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT
ATHENS
V.—GRA VB-MON UMENTS FROM A THENS. I [Figures 69-74],
by T. D. Goodell, 460
VL-QRA VB-M0NUMENT8 FROM ATHENS 11 [Figure 75],
by T. W. Heermance, 470
IIL-A KYLIX BY THE ARTIST PSIAX [Plate XXII; Figures 76-80],
by Joseph Clark Hoppin, 486
REVIEWS AND NOTICES OP BOOKS.
W. M. Flinders Petrie : Egyptian Decorative Art, 494
William Doerpfeld: Trqja^lSdS, 496
Paul Girard : De I' Expression des Masques dans les Drames aV Esehyle% 496
P. L. Van Cleef : Index Antiphonteus, 600
W. M. Ramsay : The Cities and Bishopries of Phrygia, 601
Otto Waser : Skylla und Charybdis in der Literatur und Kunst der
Qrimhm md Momar, iOt
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Ti CONTENTS.
Salomon Rxinach : Pierre* Ghravees dee Collections Marlborough et
d' OrUans, dee Recueils d' Eckhel, etc., 606
Walter Bksant : Thirty Fears Work in the Holy Land, 606
James L. Bowes : Notes on S hippo, 606
ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS.
Asia (Babylonia, Assyria, Syria, Persia, Kypros) ; Africa (Carthage) ;
Europe (Greece, Turkey, Bosnia, Rumania, France, Belgium, Ger-
many, Switzerland, Hungary) by Allan Marquand, 607
PLATES.
Paoss.
I. Bird's-eye view of the Maison Carree at Nimes, 1-12
II. Bird's-eye view of the Inner Temple Court at Medinet-Habou, . . 1-12
III-V. University of Pennsylvania Excavation at Nippur in Babylonia, 18-46
I. Mortar and inscribed Basreliefs of period of Bur-Sin,
c 2400 b. c.
ii. Early-Babylonian and late-Greek terracotta Figurines
found in the Temple of Bel.
in. Plan of Temple of Bel at Nippur,
iv. Raised Map of the first year's excavations at Nippur,
v. Objects found at Nippur.
VI-XII. Early Italian Pictures in the Jarves Collection at the Yale
School of Fine Arts, 137-161
XIII-XV. Byzantine decorative Mosaics, 162-208
XVI. A Sacrificial Calendar from the Attic Epakria, 209-226
XVII. Temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina, Italy; face of Sub-
structures and view through interior, 261-267
XVIII. XIX. Excavations by the American School at Eretria in 1894.
xviii. Foundations of a Temple in Eretria, 826-887
xix. Theatre at Eretria, 888-846
XX, XXI. University of Pennsylvania Excavation at Nippur.
xx. The Nippur Arch, 862-868
xxi. Plan of Levels, showing Excavation at Nippur, .... 489-468
XXII. A Kylix by the Artist Psiax, 486-498
FIGURES.
Paom.
1. Rear of Maison Carree at Nimes, 8
2-21. Excavation at Nippur in Babylonia by the University of Pennsyl-
vania Expedition : Ziggurat of the Temple of Bel, 13-46
22. Mycemean Palace of Gha 120
28-82. Byzantine Marble and Mosaic Decoration, 186-207
88-87. Temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina, Italy, 261-266
88. The east and west Parodoi of the Theatre at Eretria, 842
39. Sandstone Statute of the Ptolemaic period, from Koptos, .... 848
40, Head of Caracalla in syenite, from Koptos, 860
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CONTENTS.
til
41-49. University of Pennsylvania Excavation at Nippur.
41. The Nippur Arch from the inside, 868
42. More distant view of the Nippur Arch, 864
48. The Ziggurat from the southeast, 866
44. Eastern Corner of the Ziggurat, 868
46. Altar and Curb, 861
46. Excavation about and above the Arch, 862
47. Plan of Excavations on the western slope of the Akropolis, Athens, 416
48-68. University of Pennsylvania Excavation at Nippur, 489-468
69-76. Grave-Monuments from Athens, 469-484
76, 77. Alabastron at Karlsruhe, 486
78. Seilenos : central picture of Kylix by Psiax, 487
79. Figure of "Warrior, from Kylix by Psiax, 488
80. Signature of the Artist Psiax, 488
ALPHABETICAL TABLE.
Paois
American School or Classical Studies at Athens, Papers or :
i. A Sacrificial Calendar from the Attic Epakria, 209
ii. The Chorus in the later Greek Drama with reference to the stage
question, 287
in. A Temple in Eretria, uncovered in 1894, 826
it. Excavations in the Eretrian Theatre in 1894 888
y. Grave-Monuments from Athens, I, 469
vi. Grave-Monuments from Athens, II, 479
Archaeological Discoveries and Investigations :
Africa (Central), 74 Krete, 98, 899
Algeria, 77 Kypros, 97, 899, 618
Arabia, 80
Asia Minor, 89, 896
Assyria, 610
Babylonia, . . . . 81, 888, 607
Belgium, 676
Bosnia, 669
Egypt, 66, 288, 869
France, 282, 661
Germany, 677
Greece, .... 104, 286, 408, 628
Hungary, 686
Italy, 184,241,424
Palestine, 86, 894
Persia, 84, 898, 616
Portugal, 286
Rumania, 661
Russia, 96
Sicily, 279
Spain, 286, 286
Switzerland, 686
Syria, 86, 896, 612
Tripoli, 74, 886
Tunisia, 74, 886, 622
Turkey, 96, 422, 669
Capps (Edward). The Chorus in the later Greek Drama, with reference
to the stage question, 287
Excavations in the Eretrian Theatre in 1894, 888
Review of Paul Girard's De V Expression des Masques dans Us drames
d} EschyU, 496
Fowler (Harold N.). Reviews and Notices of Books :
Otto Waser : Skylla und Charybdis in der Literatur und Kunst der
Orieehen and Ramer, 608
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▼tti ALPHABETICAL TABLE.
Fbothenqham (Arthur L., Jr.,). Notes on Byzantine Art and Culture in
Italy and especially in Rome, 162
Reviews and Notices of Books .-
Dehli and Chamberlin: Norman Monuments of Palermo and environ*, 64
Le OaUerie Nazionali Raliane, 66
Charles Diehl: VArt Byzantin dans Vlialie meridionale, 68
Archnological News, 66, 281, 869
Goodell (T. D). Grave-Monuments from Athens, I, 469
Goodyear (William H.). A discovery of Horizontal Curves in the Roman
Temple called "Maison Carree" at Nimes, 1
Hoppin (Joseph Clark). A Kylix by the artist Psiax, 486
Heebmanoe (T. W.). Grave-Monuments from Athens, II, 479
Mabquand (Allan). Reviews and Notices of Books :
W. Frohner: La Collection Tyszkiewicz, 62
H. Stuart Jones : Select Passages from ancient writers illustrative of
the History of Greek Sculpture, . . . . " 68
Schreiber: Atlas of Classical Antiquities, 68
Wilhelm Bode : Denkmaler der Renaissance Sculptur Toseanas, . . 69
Leonardo da Vinci : II Codice Atlantico, 60
Alois Riegl : Stilfragen, 61
Solone Ambrosoli : Manuals di Numismatica, 62
"W. M. Flinders Petrie : Egyptian Decorative Art, 494
William Doerpfeld : Troja, 189S, 496
Salomon Reinach : Pierres Gravies des Collections Marlborough et
d'Orltans, etc., 606
Walter Besant : Thirty Tears Work in the Holy Land, 606
James L. Bowes : Notes on Shippo, 606
Archaeological News, 281, 869, 607
MtfLLER (W. Max). Necrology :
Brugsch-Pasha, 47
Peters (John P.). University of Pennsylvania Excavations at Nippur,
Babylonia :
i. Some recent results of the Excavations, especially of the
Temple Hill, 18
ii. The Nippur Arch, 862
in. The Court of Columns at Nippur, 489
Pubves (George T.). Reviews and Notices of Books :
W. M. Ramsay : The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, 601
Rankin (William). Some early Italian Pictures in the Jarves Collection of
the Tale School of Fine Arts at New Haven, 187
Notes on Italian Paintings in two loan exhibitions in New York, . . 280
Richardson (Rufus B.). Note to "A Torso from Daphne," 61
A Sacrificial Calendar from the Attic Epakria, 209
A Temple in Eretria, 826
Stevenson (Sara T.). Some Sculptures from Koptoe in Philadelphia, ... 847
Winans (S. R.). Notice of F. L. Van Cleefs Index Antiphonteus, .... 600
Young (Clarence H.). Necrology :
Augustus Chapman Merriam, 227
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. * VOL. X. PLATE I.
Bird's-Eye View of the Maison Carree at Nimes.
Drawn by J. W. McKecknie.
{Straight dotted lines show deflection of cornice : curved dotted line shows optical effect of cornice curve!)
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amekican
Journal of Archjeology.
Vol. X. JANUARY-MARCH, 1895. No. 1.
A DISCOVERY OF HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE
ROMAN TEMPLE CALLED "MAISON CARRIE"
AT NIMES.
(Plates I, II.)
The purpose of this paper is to call attention to an important
observation made in February, 1891, on the fine and well-pre-
served Roman temple at Nimes called the "Maison Carrie" —
viz., that it is constructed with the optical refinement of
the curved horizontal lines hitherto considered peculiar to the
Parthenon and other Greek temples of the fifth or sixth centuries
b. c. This is the first observation of the horizontal curves in a
building wholly Roman and proves their continuance to a date
three or four centuries later than was previously known.1 This
observation also antagonizes the current presumption of archaeol-
ogists that the imperial period was indifferent to this refinement
or incapable of achieving it.
Herewith is the attestation of the present official architect of the
city of Nimes, together with that of his predecessor in office, both
of whom have been very helpful to me in the matter of measure-
ments and friendly sympathy. These gentlemen had not pre-
viously noticed the curves; for the reason, as I believe, that they
1 The small remaining portion of the architrave of the temple of Olympian Zeus at
Athens shows the curve. This architrave is supposed by Penrose to date from
Antiochus IV. (174 b. c.) The curved foundations date from Peisistratos. Opin-
ions as to the date of the Maison Carree vary between the first and second centuries
JL. D.
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2 WILLIAM HENRY QOODYEAR.
produce a perspective illusion as to the size of the building and
hence present themselves to the eye as a natural effect, according-
to the principles of curvilinear perspective. Measurements such a&
are usually taken in surveying a building do not indicate the exis-
tence of a curve in the horizontals, because the width or height
is estimated in such surveys by a single measurement or at best by
two; taken at the extremities. At all events it is in point to
observe that although measurements of the Parthenon were under-
taken by Stuart and Revett about 1756, it was not till 1837 that
the horizontal curves were seen and announced by Pennethorne
and not till 1846 that they were measured by Penrose. There is
an archaeologist of distinction resident at Nimes, M. Aures, who
is thoroughly familiar with the observations of Pennethorne and
Penrose and who has published measurements of the Maison
Carrie. His measurements were devoted, however, to questions-
of ancient methods of metrology. They were taken for him by
another person and do not, as published, include the curves. M^
Aures, who treated me with great courtesy, is of advanced age
and so infirm that he was unable to examine the building with
me. The following attestations from the architects Augiere and
Chambaud are therefore important.
I. uLes mesures ci prte1 ont Hi prises avec Vassistance de M. Augihe,
architecte de la ville de Nimes. II constate avoir observi les courbe»
avec M. Goodyear ', et il constate q\Cil rfy a pas eu poussee dans la
corniche du coU Ouest? Ittant professeur de perspective M. Augihe
veut dire quHl considbre la thAorie de M. Goodyear, sur Veffet perspec-
tive d'une Ugne convexe m plan, noucelle mais raisonnable. Quant h
Veffet d'une Ugne concave en plan a certains points de vue, c'est chose
connue des professeurs de perspective."
(Signed), Auguste Augiere.
Architeete-Directeur des travaux publics de la ville de Nirnes, Pro-
fessewr dy Architecture et de Perspective a Vltcole des Beaux Arts.
Feb. 20th, 1891.
The second letter is as follows :
* This matter is written on the leaf of the note book containing the original
measurements.
* It was on this side that the observations for the cornice were taken as the curve-
is exaggerated on the East side by a movement in the masonry.
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HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE " MA1S0N CARR&E." «
II. " Le soussigne, Eugene Chambaud, Architects de la vitte de Nimee
en. retraite, apres avoir examine avec M. Goodyear, Us lignes courbes de
la Jfaison Carrie, a constate' V existence de ces Ugnes, comme itant dams
la dUe construction ; toutefois avec la reserve que .la courbe de la cornwhe
Rear of Maison Carrkk at Nimks.
Dratcn from a photograph to show the cornice curve*
du cote Est a eti exagerve par une poussee de la toiture, rnais aussi en
constatant le fait qu'il y a courbe aussi de ce cote dans la construction
originate, en vue du fait que la ligne <&$ bases (Its colonnes e$t combe de
ce c6tiy comme sur les. autres, et qu?il rCy a pas poussee dans ta Syne
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4 WILLIAM HENRY GOODYEAR.
des bases ; envue aussi que la poussie est loin d'etre assez grande pour
avoir produit la courbe de la cornicfie. 11 estime que les theories de M.
Goodyear y sur Veffei perspectif des courbes, sont raisonnables, et U remar-
que que la thiorie sur Veffet de perspective d'une courbe convexe en plan est
nouoeUe mais possible. 11 a reriiarqui avec lui que les variations dans
les distances entre les cohnnes sur quatre cotis du monument auraient
sans doute un effet de perspective selon les idSes de M. Goodyear. Les
joints de la cornicfie du c6ti de V Ouest ou il y a courbe de onze cen-
timetres et demi, mesure de M. Goodyear y sont parfaits avec nne seule
exception qui n'est pas importante pour la question de la courbe.
Nimes, le S3 Fivrier, 1891.
E. Chambaud."
The curves which are thus attested to exist in the masonry con-
struction and to have been measured with official concurrence and
assistance are convex curves in the exterior plan of the cornice on
both long sides of the building of about five inches deviation from
a straight line at their centre. The curves are partly produced
by leaning out the walls and engaged columns at and near the
centres of the sides. Part of the curves may be obtained by a
gradually projected arrangement of the blocks of the cornice itself,
but the cutting of its profiles and dentils is too rich and compli-
cated to allow of a definite observation on this point, as long as
the masonry above is concealed by the modern roof and gutter.
Slight curves convex to the line of vision may also be observed in
the walls and engaged columns of the temple at the level of the
stylobate. Although the decorative carving of the temple, frieze,
cornice and capitals is extremely rich, the masonry will not
compare with that of the Parthenon or other Greek temples for
refinement of quality or construction. The curves, and the
masonry arrangements by which they are produced, correspond
to wliat one might expect from the general distinctions between
the art of the Empire and that of the v century b. c. in Greece.
However, although the masonry is coarse and careless as com-
pared with the Parthenon, there can be no doubt that the joints
of the cornice masonry show close fitting and that they are with-
out any of the breaks on the East side which a movement of
masonry due to bulging from accidental causes would necessarily
exhibit. One piece of the cornice on the "West side, that nearest
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HORIZONTAL CURVES IN T£UB " MAISON \C A RRfcE.v 5
the South corner, has slipped SbWuward and has .weathered badly
at the exposed surface, but the jpint has npt parted even.. here.
The curve of the East side cornice appears to. be nearly 4<?uble
that of five inches which I measured on the West side, but as the
joints have parted here, I took the advice of M. Chambaud. not to
measure this curve.
One result of this extraordinary deflection in construction— -ex-
traordinary, that is, in its amount, from the standpoint p,f the
Parthenon curves (which are more than doubled. here for. the
given length), — is to give a pronounced effect of a rising curve
in elevation to the entablature and cornice of the long sides. . As
seen at an angle of forty-five degrees a curve convex in plan<will
produce the effect of an equal curve in elevation — so I am advise^
by experts in perspective. Thus the observer standing near, the
centre of one of the long sides of the Maison Carrie and looking
at the cornice at an angle of forty-five degrees has the effect of a
curve in elevation double that of the long sides of the Parthenon
for the given length and about three times as great as thq curves
of the Parthenon at the ends of that building, which correspond
approximately to the length of the long sides of the Maison Carrie^
The eye would naturally discount this effect as being one of per-
spective and it is quite certain, whatevermay have been the pur-
pose of the curvesj that this apparent increase of dimension is one
of their results for all eyes. Even when the curve is noticed the,
optical illusion is the same, for it is absolutely impossible jbr the
eye to detect the curve as being anything but the optical curve of
a line seen in perspective when facing the sides of the building.
It is only by sighting near the angles that the curve is seen to be
in the masonry.
It was this appearance of a rising curve in elevation, as seen
in a photograph of the Maison Carrie in New York in 1879*
which led me since that time to believe that the Greek curves
would be found in the Maison Carrie, and my visit to Nimes was
consequently made for the purpose of verifying this suspicion.
The fact that Nimes was settled by a colony of Alexandrian
Greeks, gave an additional stimulus to my anticipations. It has
always appeared to me improbable that the use of the Greek
curves should have been unknown to the Roman imperial period,
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6 ' WJLLtAM HENRY GOODYEAR.
seeing that our only authority regarding them in ancient litera-
ture is a. Roman who recommended their use; and seeing, also,
that it was the prescription of Vitruvius which first suggested to
Pennethorne that the curves might be found in the Parthenon.4
My observations at Nimes agitate once more the still unde-
termined question as to the purpose of the Greek curves in
general.. The explanation offered by Penrose8 starts from the
tendency to an optical downward deflection (" alveolation ") in
the straight cornice line of the pediment, and supposes the rising
-curve of this line to have had the purpose of counteracting this
optical deflection; but in the Maison Carrie nothing has been
<fone to counteract this " alveolation " which is very apparent in
th» building for the pediments ; so much so that it appeared to
me that this downward curve has even been exaggerated by the
masonry construction. It has been made probable by Thiersch6
that there is an " alveolation," or optical downward deflection,
in the stylobate lines of a Greek temple as seen from below near
the angles, and he supposes that the rising curves of the temple
flanks were intended to correct this effect; but it is impossible
that a lmlging curve of five inches deflection was constructed in
the Maison Carrie with reference to an u alveolation " of the side
lines. Two considerations are conclusive on this head: (a) The
" alveolation " was left without correction in the straight lines
of the pedimeqts, where it is naturally much more pronounced,
(b) Thiersch does not claim an " alveolation " for the side lines
except as seen near the angles, and here the bulging curve of the
Maison Carree could not produce the optical correction.
The German architect Hoffer, whose observations of the hori-
zontal curves of the Parthenon were contemporaneous with those
of Pennothorne, believed the curves to have had the purpose of
increasing the apparent size of the building according to the
principles of curvilinear perspective.7 This suggestion was re-
4 The existence of the curves in the ancient monuments appeared so improbable
to the architect, Wilkins, who published a translation of Vitruvius in 1812, that he
added a foot-note to the passage on the curves, intimating that such a refinement
probably never existed in actual practice.
* Principle* of Athenian Architecture.
• OptUche Tauschungen auf dem Oebiete des Architectur.
r Wiener Battxsitnng, 188S.
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HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE « MA ISO N CARR&E." 7
vived by Boutmy8 in 1870. Both these students confined their
explanations to a point of view assumed to be nearly opposite the
centres of the building and at some little distance from it, and I
think it has not been observed that a line or surface, concave to
tbe standpoint of vision, may produce a perspective illusion from
every standpoint of vision to which it is concave. According to
the teachings of perspective experts, a deflection or curve in a
line or surface supposed to be straight concave to the line of
sight, throws the extremity of that line, by an optical illusion,
to the point which that extremity would occupy in a straight
line of greater length. It follows from this that a curving line not
obtrusive to the eye may produce a perspective illusion from
-every standpoint of vision to which it is concave. The proposi-
tion that a line or surface with curve convex to the line of vision
may produce a perspective illusion for every standpoint to which
it is convex, can be demonstrated without mathematics. I was
tempted to submit it to the architects of Nimes above mentioned,
and it now has the ratification of a professor of perspective. The
proposition is probably novel. Should it meet wider acceptance
it would not prove that the curves of the Maison Carrie had,
among other possible purposes, a perspective intent; but it
would prove that they have a perspective effect as result, and
would consequently explain why they have so far escaped notice.
The proposition may be stated for lines or surfaces convex to the
line of vision and having apparently or approximately equidis-
tant divisions, as follows: For every such line or surface assumed by
the eye to be straight; given a point of view not opposite the centre
of the line, the spaces nearest the eye are unduly widened and
the spaces farther from the eye are unduly foreshortened — hence
a perspective illusion. For every such line or surface assumed
by the eye to be straight ; given a point of view opposite the
-centre division, all other divisions are unduly foreshortened, and the
centre division, which has increased width, as being nearer the
eye, gives the norm of computation — hence a perspective illusion.
The proposition is, therefore, that all architectural curves,
in lines presumably or apparently straight, may produce a per-
spective illusion from whatever point viewed. In 1886 this
8 Philosophic de I* architecture en Orece.
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8 WILLIAM HENRY GOODYEAR.
proposition, in this shape, was verbally laid before a distinguished
American architect and perspective expert, and was not received
with disfavor. The most important effect of a curve convex to
the line of vision in the upper line of a building is, however,
without doubt, its tendency to exaggerate the ordinary appear-
ances of curvilinear perspective, in this upper line, especially
on near approach to the building. At points inside the angle of
forty-five degrees the apparent elevation of that part of the cornice
nearest the spectator is enormously increased, and the perspective
effect of the descending lines, as seen on either side in perspective,
is therefore enormously exaggerated. Plates I and II illustrate
this effect in bird's-eye view. It is so much greater than the
other effect I have suggested for a convex curve that the former
seems hardly worth debating — unless we conceive that even the
most delicate changes of appearance in dimension involve an
optical mystification which was one result sought.
I should be sorry to damage the effect of a positive and matter
of fact observation of great importance to archaeologists by the
introduction of theoretical matter, but the existence of a temple
with curves confined to those convex in plan is undoubtedly out-
side the limit of explanations hitherto offered for the Greek curves.
Moreover there must be a reason why a rather obvious phenom-
enon has hitherto escaped notice in a temple as well known as the
Motion Carrie. No doubt the first impulse of any modern builder,
architect or expert is to attribute deflections in the masonry of an
ancient building to movements in the masonry due to accidental
causes after construction and this cause of oversight must also be
considered.
The intercolumnar spacings on the West flank of the Maison
Carrie are as follows, measured from South to North in feet and
inches— 4, 2: 4,3: 4, 3J : 4, 3£ : 4,4J: 4,5: 4, 3£ : 4,3: 4,3: 4,
4J. The intercolumnar spacings on the East flank, measured
from South to North, are as follows — 4, 6 : 4, 6 : 4, 3 : 4, 4f : 4,
3 : 4, 5£ : 4, 1£ : 4, 1 : 4, 3 J : 4, 4. The intercolumnar spacings
at the Fa$ade (North) end of the temple are, as measured from
East to West— 4, 1 \ : 4, i : 4, 3 : 4, 1 : 4J. At the South end
measured from East to West these spacings are — 4 ; 4, 1 ; 4, 3£ ;
4,1; 4, 3.
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HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE " MAISON CARR&E." 9
The greatest variation in the intercolumniations of the Par-
thenon is about an inch and a half. Between the highest and
lowest measurements here we obtain a variation of five inches.
There does not appear to be any scheme in the Parthenon intercol-
umniations excepting that of optical mystification and it may be
that these variations have no other purpose. The only scheme
to which we find no exception in the Maison Carrie is that the
central intercolumniations of each flank and of each end are wider
than the spaces adjacent. Boutmy has announced a perspective
scheme in the spacing of the metopes of the Parthenon which
have a maximum variation of over three inches in favor of the
central spacings, as against those of the angles.
My measurements at Nimes were much assisted by introduc-
tions from Professor Reginald Stuart Poole, who was acquainted
in advance with the anticipated results of my visit. M. Henri
Revoil, Architect of Historic Monuments, allowed me to place
ladders against the building, and M. Augiere deputed several
workmen from the municipal employes and one of his assistants
to help me. The Maison Carrie is, however, including the eleva-
tion of the stylobate, as high as the Parthenon, and it was found
necessary to employ workmen accustomed to repairing roofs.
These scaled the building by knotted ropes hung from the roof,
and after securing themselves beside the cornice by iron hooks
and a body belt, were able to determine the curve of the cornice
by dropping a plumb-line from three different points (the angles
and centre) to the stylobate below. The points thus fixed were
marked and the amount of deflection was then established by a
surveyor's line. M. Chambaud has a very exact knowledge of
the roof and cornice masonry of the temple, having personally
inspected the joints of the cornice during repairs which he made
on the roof, and his verdict on the questions of cornice masonry
must be regarded as final.
II.
There is said to have been a colony of Alexandrian Greeks
settled at Nimes,9 and the influences of Greek art and Greek
race are generally recognized for Southern France. This may
'There is ancient authority for this statement, hut I have lost my reference.
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10 WILLIAM HENRY GOODYEAR.
be an explanation of the survival of the Greek refinement of hori-
zontal curves at this particular point. Inasmuch an the Greek
curves are generally known as having been curves in elevation
(not in plan), the existence of curves convex in plan on the long
sides of the Poseidon temple at Ptestum is a fact to be empha-
sized. Penrose supposes that curves at Psestum are confined to
the pediments at the ends of the temple (curves in elevation), but
Jacob Burckhardt attests the existence of convex cornice curves in
plan on the long sides of the temple, and as being in the masonry
construction and not owing to displacement.10 This observation by
Burckhardt is noted by Thiersch. The latter assumes, without
proof, an accidental cause. Burckhardt confines his explanation
to the point that the curved line has more beauty than the line
which is mathematically straight, and that an effect of life and
grace is obtained by its use. Since we now have at least two
cases of classic temples showing curves in plan on the cornice
line, as distinct from curves in elevation, it seems wise to publish
observations which I have made for curves in plan, convex to the
line of vision, in the temple courts at Karnak, Luxor, and Edfou.
Mr. John Pennethorne, who discovered the curves of the Parthe-
non in 1837, had discovered two years earlier (1835) convex
curves in plan in the cornices of the second court at Medinet
Habou; but this observation was not published until 1878, and
seems to have been utterly overlooked since that date by all
Egyptologists. These curves have eight inches deflection on the
short side of the court and four inches deflection on its long side.
They are an excellent illustration of the optical illusion which
results from a curve convex to the line of vision. It was impos-
sible for me when standing in the court to distinguish these lines
from the curves of perspective. Every person who has been in
the second court at Medinet Habou, without noticing these curves,
must have discounted their effect into an appearance of greater
length in the sides of the court ; and it should be borne in view that
a knowledge of the existence of these masonry curves is not the
slightest detriment to the optical illusion. It is only on the roofs
of the porticoes and by sighting from the angles that the curves
are detected as independent of optical effect. It may be added
l0Der Cicero tie, vol. I, p. 5.
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HORIZONTAL CURVES IN THE " MAISON CARRIE." 11
that Egyptologists are generally agreed in attributing a purpose
of perspective illusion to the arrangement of apartments in cer-
tain Egyptian temples, as regards the gradual descent in height
of apartments, the gradual ascent in line of pavement, and the
gradual narrowing in of apartments in the direction away from
the entrance. This is mentioned, for instance, by Professor
Maspero, also by Professors Reginald Stuart Poole and Rawlinson.
My own observations in Egypt supplementary to those of Mr.
Pennethorne, may now be noticed. At Edfou I observed curves
of plan in the cornices of the great court convex to the line of
vision. I measured the curve on the roof of the East side of the
court and found that it amounted to ten inches. I believe the
length of the side is 140 feet. This cornice has moved forward
undoubtedly, as shown by a parting of its joints and by the part-
ing of joints on the inside faces of the columns supporting it, but
I measured curves on each of the four sides of the court at the
let:el of the pavement, all convex to the centre of the court, each with
a deflection of one and a half inches. From the construction of
the courts at Medinet Habou and at Edfou, it is clear that the
curves were obtained in the Egyptian cornice by a gradual lean-
ing forward of the columns of a court, the lean to the front
increasing as the columns approach the centre. At Medinet Habou,
for instance, the curve in the line of columns near the bases is
not perceptible to the eye when sighting for it, although the
maximum of curvature in cornices is eight inches and instantly
detected by sighting on the level of the roof. This method of
construction would explain the displacement of the cornice at
Edfou, which has exaggerated the curves, for all earthquakes and
other forces tending to disintegrate the masonry would tend to
weaken the building in the direction to which the columns were
already leaned.
I found curves in the lines of the columns at Luxor in every
court, and in each case convex to the centre of the court. These
curves measured from one and a half inches to seven inches
deflection. The central columns on two sides of the rear court
at Luxor are shored up by beams since the excavation, finished
in 1891 , and would otherwise fall forward into the court. This
movement of the columns is to be explained by an original con-
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12 WILLIAM HENRT QOODYEAR.
b true ti on, lil*$ that at Medinet Habou and Edfou. At least that
is my suggestion. The great court at Karnak was still so filled
with rubbish in 1891 that one could ascend to the line of the
architraves on both portico sides of the court. By sighting along
the line of these architraves I verified the existence of very pro-
nounced curves of several inches, convex to the centre of the
court I think that these owes may be owing, to some extent,
to masonry displacement, but tfcit this displacement has been a
movement toward the centre of the court, owing to an original
lean of the columns and original curve of the architraves in this
direction. At Medinet Habou the portico roofs of the second
court are in fine preservation, and there has not been the slightest
parting of joints or displacement of masonry which could suggest
an accidental cause for the curves.
We will notice finally, once more, that the effect of such con-
vex curves in the upper line of a building is to increase the
appearance of dimension to an extraordinary degree on near
approach ; that a convex curve is equal in effect, at an angle of
forty-five degrees, to a curve of the same deflection in elevation ;
and that two writers, viz., Hoffer and Boutmy, have attributed
the Greek curves in elevation to a purpose of perspective illusion.
All these various facts may be considered as helpful to an
understanding of the curves of the Mcdson Carree and of the tem-
ple of Poseidon at Pactum.
I published an article in Scribner's Magazine for August 1874,
entitled " A Lost Art," in which the purpose of optical illusion was
ascribed to certain curves in masonry of the cathedral and other
churches at Pisa. The announcement that deceptive perspective
schemes in the arrangement of arches, pier spacings, and walls, is
a widespread phenomenon in Mediaeval cathedrals is probably
original with me and I shall soon publish a work on this subject.
The more widespread in time and place the use of optical refine-
ments in architecture appears to have been, the greater proba-
bility attaches to each new instance of demonstrated intentional
construction in which such an effect was obtained, that the effect
obtained was intentional.
New York City. Wm. Henry Goodyear.
February, 1895.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
^Httcn the ^cavatien f Ik JBabylewan t
ZffJpXrrr,
itililitin
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE IV.
Raised Map of the First Year's Excavations at Nippur.
From Dr. Hilprecht's Report " The Babylonian Expedition, " Vol. I.
( The Roman Numbers indicate places where excavations were made ; the A rabit^the height of the mounds, in metres
above present level of canal bed. About five metres should be added to obtain actual height above plain. Ill is the
Temple-mound, Ekur . VII is the watt, Nimit-Marduk.)
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
VOL. X. PLATE V.
I. Mortar and Inscribed Bas-Reliefs of Period of Bur-Sin, c. 2400 b. c.
II. Early Babylonian and Late Greek Terracotta Figurines Found in
Temple of Bel.
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SOME RECENT RESULTS OP THE UNIVERSITY OP
PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR,
ESPECIALLY OP THE TEMPLE HELL.
[Plates HI, IV, V.]
The expedition to Babylonia which was sent out under my
direction commenced excavations at Nippur February 6th, 1889,
and continued them for two months. Work was resumed Janu-
ary 14th, 1890, and continued for the space of four months. Dur-
ing the first year we worked with a maximum force of 200 men.
Naturally a large part of our work was tentative, especially the
work upon the temple. During the second year we worked with
a maximum force of about 400 men ; and while we employed a
considerable number of these in digging for tablets and making
soundings in various parts of the extensive mounds, by far the
larger part of the force was, from the outset, concentrated on the
systematic exploration of the Temple Hill.
In 1892 a second expedition was sent out under the direction
of Mr. J. II. Haynes, a member of my staff during the first two
years, who had also had experience with other expeditions, espe-
cially the Wolfe expedition and the expedition to Assos.
Mr. Haynes commenced excavations April 11th, 1893, and con-
tinued them until April 3d, 1894, resuming work again June 4th,
1894, and continuing down to the present time. His average
force of workmen employed has been about 50, and from Septem-
ber 1st, 1893, until November 24th, 1894, this force was concen-
trated upon the Temple Hill, continuing the systematic excava-
tions which had been carried on at that point, and especially
upon the ziggurat of the temple and its immediate surroundings.
A considerable section of the temple in front of the ziggurat to
the southeast, has been removed, stratum after stratum, and the
ziggurat itself followed down from its latest form to its earliest
13
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14 JOHN P. PETERS.
with great care. The complete results of this work cannot be
published until Mr. Haynes' expedition has returned, and there
has been an opportunity for him and others to work up those re-
sults ; but combining what was done under my direction during
the first two years with what Mr. Haynes has so far reported for
the subsequent two years, I am able to present some sort of a
sketch of the history of the great temple of Bel at Nippur.
The accompanying plan (Plate in) will give some idea of the ap-
pearance of the temple enclosure at the close of the first two years'
excavations. The shaded portions on this map represent actual
excavations. It will be observed that the ziggurat has wing-like
or buttress-like projections on all four sides and is curiously irreg-
ular in form. The ziggurat, as here represented, is composed of
two stages. About it, on all sides, we find rooms or corridors.
The ziggurat, with the various rooms, corridors and the like
which surrounded it, was enclosed by a huge wall, which towards
the southeast stood to the height of over 60 feet, and was almost
50 feet thick at its base. On the top of this wall, on the south-
eastern side, we found a series of rooms. There were irregular,
tower-like masses at three of the corners of the great wall. The
western corner, and a part of the southwestern side near the
western corner, comld not be found at all, having been apparently
destroyed by water. At the eastern corner there was a singular
mistake, owing to the lack of instruments of precision, by which
the angle was made obtuse instead of right, thus giving the en-
closure a curiously irregular shape. The corners of the great
enclosure and of the ziggurat itself were not accurately orientated
— the northern corner of the ziggurat pointing 12 degrees east of
the magnetic north.
But to commence with the section A, B : the apparent level of
the Shatt-en-Xil, or canal bed, which passes through the mounds
of Xippur, is several meters above the true level of virgin soil, the
old canal having filled up gradually with washings from the
mounds about it. I sank a shaft to the depth of 19.3 metres
from the 14 metre level, or 5.3 meters below the canal level, on
the outer surface of the great wall, without reaching bed earth;
and Mr. Haynes reports a depth of 68£- feet, or almost 21 metres,
from the surface of the 14 metre level to virgin clay in a shaft
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 15
sunk by him in the great trench on the temple plateau, which
would make virgin soil 7 metres below the canal level. I think
this must have been an exceptional place, and that the true
soil level is in general not much more than 5 metres below the
canal level. My excavations were actually continued some two
weeks after this section was completed, with the result, so far a&
depths go, of reaching 19.3 metres in the trench outside of the
great wall instead of 18, as there indicated; of removing the
inner wall, and of carrying the trench inside of the great wall and
between it and the ziggurat down to 11.5 metres below the 14
metre level, at which depth we found the foundations of walls of
the famous Sargon, king of Akkade, 3800 b. c. The trenches
were connected with one another by a tunnel passing through the
great wall, while a similar tunnel led from the trench outside of
the great wall, through the mass of rubble before it, to the exca-
vations marked " Shrine of Bur Sin."
The greatest depth reached under the ziggurat itself is not
shown by this section, since it was off the line. By means of the
trench, marked 56 on the plan, and the tunnel, marked 10, a
point 2 metres below plain level was reached under the western
corner of the ziggurat.
Commencing at A, on the level of the Shatt-en-Nil, there was
a low wall-like line of mounds rising 3 to 4 metres above plain
level, with a gate-like breach in the middle. This proved to con-
tain a row of booths or small rooms with walls of mud brick.
In the particular room or booth through which the section line
passes, in the northern corner of the room, was found a large
number of inscribed objects of ivory, glass, turquoise, agate,
malachite, lapis lazuli, magnesite, feldspar, etc., some in the pro-
cess of manufacture and some complete, together with material
not yet worked. All these had been contained in a box which
had been buried by the falling in of the earth of the walls or
roof and decayed away, leaving signs of its existence in long cop-
per nails, in the position of the objects when found, and in some
slight traces of oxidation left in the earth by decaying wood.
These objects were found from 1.5 to 2.5 metres below the sur-
face. The inscribed objects belonged to kings of Babylon of the
Cosssean dynasty, from BurnarBuriash, 1342 b. c\, to Kadashman-
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16 JOHN P. PETERS.
Turgu, 1241 b. c. No later buildings had been erected at this
point. The walls of the booths rested upon a foundation of earth
heaped up for the purpose, but' where we carried excavations
lower, as in the breach-like opening, we found that other build-
ings had existed there at an earlier period.
Behind this outer low wall-line was a depression of the surface,
beyond which again the ground sloped up quite steeply to the
summit of the temple plateau, which was 14 metres above plain
level. On this slope, at the point indicated in the section, was
found the shrine of Amar-Sin or Bur-Sin, as the name is vari-
ously read, indicated on the plan at No. 11. This shrine stood
on a platform of burned brick. Its walls were built of burned
brick laid in bitumen, and from 7 to 14 courses were still in
place. Almost all of the bricks bore a brief dedicatory inscrip-
tion to Bel by Bur-Sin, king of Ur. about 2400 b. c, and longer
inscriptions by the same monarch were found on two fine diorite
door sockets in the two doorways. This building faced towards
the ziggurat, as shown on the plan. Behind it, and belonging to
it, was a well, also of burned brick. Apparently there had been
statuary and ornamental basreliefe in connection with this shrine.
An excavation of the gully beneath it revealed a pair of clasped
hands from a diorite statue, which must have been similar to
those found at Tello, and several inscribed fragments, including
three fragments of basreliefs. An archaic looking mortar of vol-
canic stone was also found at the same place. These objects are
reproduced in No. 2 of Plate v.
As we found it, this little buildiug faced against a huge towering
wall, under the debris from which it had been buried, but at the time
of its erection either the wall did not rise above the level of the
platform of this temple, or, if it did, there was in it a large opening
serving as an entrance to the temple at this point. Walls of
brick of Ur-Gur (2800 b. c.) are buried in the great wall. These
walls were part of a causeway ascending from a point about on a
level with and nearly in front of this shrine of Bur-Sin, to the
top of the first terrace of the ziggurat. This shrine, therefore,
reminds me by its position of the " high places of the gates/'
mentioned in the books of Kings (as, for example, n K., 23:8).
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 17
At a later date a certain King Gande scratched his inscription
on the side of one of the door sockete of Bur-Sin. Of this king
we know nothing, except that he caused his name to be scratched
on the work of several older kings at Nippur ; and his inscrip-
tions also stand by themselves on three large, rude marble stones.
His inscriptions are extremely barbarous in appearance. On top
of the ruins of this shrine of Bur-Sin we found a poor wall of
mud brick, with no clue to its age, and above this a mass of de-
bris which had fallen from the great wall above.
The great wall was of really colossal proportions. It had a
slope of one in four. At the bottom it was 15 metres in thick-
ness, and at the top, as it at present stands, 9 metres. For 14
metres below the level of the plateau this wall was built entirely
of unbaked brick, but below this, for 5.3 metres, it consisted of
earth faced with a casing of baked brick .90 m. in thickness, and
the slope of this lower part was less than that of the upper. That
the wall was not homogeneous and all constructed at one time was
clear, among other things, from the fact that a portion of the
brick causeway, by which in Ur-Gur's day access was had to the
upper stages of the ziggurat, was imbedded in it. A wall had
evidently existed at this point from time immemorial, repaired
and built upon by men of many ages, until it reached its present
height. Originally, as shown by the fragments of a transverse
wall found at a low level, there was an entrance over this wall on
the southeastern side, by means of steps or an inclined plane ;
and as late as the time of Bur-Sin there was still an entrance at
this point. At the time of the last great reconstruction this wall
was raised to a much greater height, perhaps for purposes of de-
fence, and there is no trace of an entrance in front. Rooms were
built upon this last wall, as shown in the plan. On its inner side
this wall was intended, in the last reconstruction, to be above
ground to the depth of 5.5 metres only, the rest being a retaining
wall to enclose a terrace. That terrace, as we found it, was com-
posed largely of debris, but in many places, especially along the
line of the walls, was found a filling of unbaked bricks in large
square blocks. A somewhat similar wall surrounded the temple
enclosure on all sides, and each side has roughly an outside meas-
urement of 200 metres, excepting for the difference caused by the
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18 JOHN P. PETERS.
fact that at the eastern corner, as already stated, by some mis-
take the angle was made obtuse instead of right. The corners
of the wall, as of the building in general, point approximately
toward the cardinal points, in such a manner, however, that the
northern corner is 12° east of north. It may be added that I
observed similar inaccuracies of orientation at Mughair (Ur) and
Warka (Erech). The orientation of Babylonian buildings was
merely approximate, and I am inclined to think that it was deter-
mined originally by the trend of the valley and the prevailing
winds rather than by astronomical observations.
Within this outer wall on the southeastern side of the temple
there was, as will be seen from both the section and the plan, an
inner wall with two almost circular towers. The depth of this
wall was 9.5 metres. It evidently was in existence at the time of
Ur-Gur, and was perhaps first built by him. It must have been
rebuilt and added to from time to time until it received its pres-
ent form at the time of the last great reconstruction. As we
found it, in the upper 5 metres of its surface it was beautifully
plastered or stuccoed, while the lower 4.5 metres consisted of
plain unplastered blocks of unbaked brick. A section of this
wall was ultimately removed as far as the tower marked 63 in the
plan, in trench 1 ; and that trench itself was carried a metre
lower throughout than is shown in the section. This was done
by me. Mr. Haynes more than doubled the breadth of this great
trench, extending it toward the northeast, and also carrying it
northwestward through the projecting southeastern wing of the
ziggurat up to the line of the inner and more ancient ziggurat.
He also removed all additions to the ziggurat itself until he had
reached the original structure of Ur-Gur.
As will be seen from the plan and section, the great trench
was carried in the first two years only up to the southeast wing of
the ziggurat ; but another trench was carried around the entire
ziggurat, and that structure, a solid mass of brick and mud-brick,
was explored through all its strata by means of tunnels and cuts.
By this means we were able to ascertain that there was another
and older ziggurat inside of that which our excavations had laid
bare. The cut through the core of the ziggurat (No. 52) showed
us that the depth of the mass of unbaked brick was 23 metres
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 19
from its highest point. With the exception of the outer casing
belonging to the last great restoration, this mass was homogene-
ous in construction, consisting of unbaked bricks of small size,
and in shape not unlike the ordinary bricks in use to-day. These
were the bricks of Ur-Gur. They were laid in three different
ways : first a layer on the edge, with the flat sides out ; then a
layer on the edge, with the ends out ; and then a layer on the flat
side, with the edges out. These bricks were often somewhat
crushed out of shape by the weight resting upon them. Below
the ziggurat, at the point of cutting (No. 52), we found first a
metre of black ashes, and then a metre of earth, with occasional
fragments of pottery. When we tunneled beneath the ziggurat
at its western corner, 26 metres below the level of the summit,
we found a drain of pottery rings, a fragment of a wall of baked
bricks, plano-convex, the convex surface marked with thumb
grooves, precisely similar to those shown on figures 15 and 16 ;
an illegible fragment of an unbaked tablet, and a beautiful jade
axe-head.
In a cutting at the other end of the ziggurat (No. 53), which
descended about 9 metres from the top, we found so many bricks
and the like as to suggest the existence on the summit of the zig-
gurat at some period, of a brick structure of some sort ; but all
surface layers of the ziggurat of the later and earlier periods
alike were so ruined and worn away by the action of water that
it was impossible to reach certainty on this matter.
As will be seen from the plan, the ziggurat, as discovered, was
peculiarly irregular in structure. On both sides of the northern
corner (No. 54) was a paneled wall of brick. This is a part of the
ziggurat of Meli-Shiha. Everywhere else his ziggurat was
buried under a new wall of huge blocks of mud-brick. Dotted
lines at Nos. 38, 7, 49, 8, etc., on the plan show remnants of older
brick structures in various parts of the temple area, notably a
grand tower at the northern corner (No. 38), buried in the mud-
brick buildings of the last restoration.
Space will not permit an extended description of the meaning
of the accompanying plan. Excavations were made, as will be
seen, over a large extent of space, and in a general way the tem-
ple in its last reconstruction was laid bare.
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20 JOHN P. PETERS.
In view of the great size of the temple — which covered within
its inner walls a surface of about eight acres — it was impossible
to excavate the whole of it systematically, removing stratum after
stratum. For this purpose we chose, as shown in Fig. 2 a sec-
tion immediately in front of the ziggurat to the southeast, be-
tween the ziggurat and the great wall, and conducted a large
trench with a view of determining the successive strata. This
enabled us to treat also the wall on one side and the ziggurat on*
the other. Ultimately it was found necessary to remove consid-
I
Fio. 2. — Excavations on the 8. B. Side of the Zigourat or the
Temple or Bel (June 6, 1894).
erable portions of the ziggurat in order to get at the original con-
structions, and to carry the large trench around the ziggurat on
all sides.
Wells and similar shafts were sunk at other parts of the tem-
ple, wherever a favorable opportunity seemed to present itself, for
the purpose of confirming, checking and reinforcing the results
obtained from the excavation of the space in front of the ziggu-
rat; but in giving the result of the excavations for the purpose
of determining the history of the temple, I shall confine myself
to the large trench in front of the ziggurat and to the results ob-
tained in the excavation of the ziggurat itself, premising that
there are still many matters which need to be worked out more
fully, and which can be only tentatively given until the full re-
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UNI VERSITV OF PENNSYL VA NIA EXCA VA TIONS A T NIPPUR. 21
•suits of Mr. Haynes' work are at hand, and have been compared
•carefully with the result of the work of the first two years.
Before excavations began the ziggurat was an almost conical
hill, known to the Arabs as Bint-el-Amir (Daughter of the Prince).
Around this, on all sides, was a plateau, seamed here and there
with very deep gulleys. The general height of this was 14
metres (see for general appearance of mounds Plate IV).
On this plateau we found, first of all, a surface layer of 2^- to
3 J- feet of earth. In this, close to the ziggurat, on the southeast
aide, were poor walls of mud brick, remains of a number of
rooms or huts of a late period. To the northwest of the ziggurat we
found two or three Jewish bowls, such as were also found in groat
numbers in a Jewish village on another hill, in which latter case
•coins of the Kufic period gave us as a date the vn century after
Christ. Here and there on the plateau of the ziggurat were
coffins and tombs, which are to be ascribed variously to the Par-
thian, Sassanian and Arabic periods, although no remains were
found which would enable us to date any of them with precision.
The remains in this upper layer of earth point to a time when
the temple was no longer a temple, but when the plateau and
Bint-el-Amir were merely a tel, the latter affording protection,
and a side hill for the building of huts, and the former a suita-
ble place for burial, according to the ideas of the people. In this
stratum, very little below the surface, was a layer of fine white
.ashes, pretty evenly distributed over the surface of the plateau,
evidence apparently of the use of the hill by alkali burners.
Below this later stratum, or these later strata of earth, we came to
a series of constructions which belonged together, constituting one
whole (Fig. 3). Walls of unbaked brick stood to the height of 14J
to 15J feet. To the southeast, northeast and southwest of the
ziggurat were rooms or houses ; to the northwest and north were
very fine series of corridors. The whole, as indicated in the plan
{Pl. Ill) was bounded by a vast retaining wall. On the southeast
«ide the rooms or houses were contained within an inner wall,
which was relieved by two singular solid towers of a conical
shape. Outside of this wall, and between it and the great retain-
ing wall, was a huge corridor. Through the inner wall was no
door, but passage to the ziggurat was obtained by a circuitous
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22 JOHN P. PETERS.
route around to the south and southwest The walls of the
rooms and corridors of this series were in almost all cases finely
stuccoed with a plaster of mud and straw, smoothly laid on, and
many of them had been tinted, but always seemingly in solid
colors.
The accompanying sketches and plans by Mr. Joseph A. Meyer*
Jr., who has been with Mr. Haynes for the last year as draughts-
man, will give some idea of the appearance and character of the
rooms to the southeast and east of the ziggurat. All of the
Fio. 3.— Rooms S. E. of Zigourat of Late Babylonian Period.
KXCAVATKD AT BEGINNING OP 8KCOND YKAK.
rooms on this level were occupied during two or three successive
periods, as is shown by the walling up of doors on lower levels
and the opening of others on higher levels, the building of
threshold upon threshold, etc. The accompanying sketches of
Mr. Meyer give a specimen of a house occupied in three or pos-
sibly in four successive periods, as shown by the doors. I can-
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCA VATIONS AT NIPPUR. 23
not do better than to repeat Mr. Haynes' words with regard
to these sketches :
"Fig. 4 gives a sketch in perspective of the street shown
in the accompanying plan (Fig. 5). It looks towards the south-
southwest, and shows its continuation along the face of the SOUth-
Ca) Fiiuc PtACB of Brick.
(6) Firk Place with Terracotta
Fender.
Fig. 4 — A Street in the Temple Enclosure,
S. E. of the Zigourat (July f>, 1894).
eastern buttress of the ziggurat, and under the steps on the oppo-
site side of the great trench. In the middle of the unpaved
street is a well-made gutter of burned bricks. The masonry of
combined crude and burned bricks, in the left hand middle dis-
tance, shows a stairway descending from the filled-up street of
what seems to be a well-defined period in the occupancy of these
houses, and the continued use of the street, to the lower room of
a house, that was continuously occupied and kept free from accu-
mulating earth long after the street and the neighboring houses
had become filled to a higher level with earth and debris, even
after the doors of other houses had been raised to enter the street
over a low threshold, sometimes of burned, often of crude bricks.
. . . The walls of these houses clearly show three distinct periods
in their occupancy. After the first occupation, during which
time the street and many of the houses were filling with earth,
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24
JOHN P. PETERS.
the walls of crude bricks were at least twice raised to a higher
altitude, and twice were the doors carried upward to a corres-
ponding height. The house in the left of the accompanying
sketch (Fig. 4) shows three doors marking the three clearly-
defined periods in the history of these houses. The lower door,
with the segmental arch, belongs to the first period ; the second
door was closed by a mass of crude brick, which projected beyond
the face of the walls ; and the opening above this projection is
the ruined door of the third and last discernible period.
" Figure 4 also shows toward the right hand sketches of
two fireplaces. . . Figure 6 gives the cross-section and ground-
plan of the street at the point of the door shown in the left hand
of the foregoing sketch. It also shows cross-section and eleva-
tion of the doors of the first and second periods, belonging to the
above houses, and shown in the sketch and in the section and
plan of the street given in Figs. 4 and 5.
"Figure 7 is a sketch of the domestic pottery taken from
this series of rooms. . . The large vase in the centre of the group
was perforated — probably to allow the escape of water. It was
sunk below the floor of earth in the northern corner of the room
numbered 121 on the accompanying plan (Fig. 5). Around
Fig. 5.— Houses and Stkkkt S. £. of the Temple of Bel (July 6, 1894).
Scale, .021 in. = 1 ft.
the jar's mouth was a bit of bitumen cement, apparently designed
to convey water into the jar, which would seem to have served as
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 25
1 1
3 tf :
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26
JOHN P. PETERS.
a drain, although a more unsanitary method of plumbing could
scarcely be devised. Drainage was generally effected by a sluice
under the threshold of the door into the street, or by a small
drain through the wall of the house, also into the street, the slop-
ing floors facilitating the fall of the water into the drain."
Fio. 7. — Domestic Pottery from Houses S. E. of the Temple of Bel.
Figure 8 exhibits in detail the curious and interesting door
socket and threshold of burned brick seen at G on Fig. 6.
" 'Trrrr
mm—M I I.LLl
O .
> \
+*d
Pio. 8. — Door-Sock kt of Burned Brick witb Part of the Threshold.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCA VATIONS AT NIPPUR. 27
Figure 9 exhibits the drains and ventilators found in the walls
of houses of the first of the three periods here represented.
^
«nu cmia nri.-
&1
UkA^A^^
anmoN m«i
faawm n« i
^Mp|
5^
St
EIRATION ««2
^fCriCN N«2
Fio. 9. — Ventilators or Drains Found in Street Walls of House of
the First Period S. E. of the Ziggurat. (Scale, .44.5 in. = 1 ft.)
It was evident that these rooms or houses were occupied during
a considerable period of time. Some pottery and terracotta figurines
of Greek work (Pl. V, 1) show that a portion of that time at least
was in the Seleucidan period, but there are no remains which en-
able us to fix either a terminus a quo or ad quern for these buildings.
I am inclined to ascribe their origin to the later Babylonian em-
pire, partly on the ground of general similarity to other struct-
ures of that period found in Babylonia. The cruciform shape of
the ziggurat is, to be sure, unlike anything else which has been
discovered, but the relation of these rooms or houses to the
ziggurat is in general the same as that of the rooms or houses
unearthed by Hormuzd Rassam at Borsippa to the ziggurat of the
temple of Nebo built by Nebuchadrezzar.
As already stated, these buildings were removed in a line be-
tween the central portion of the ziggurat and the great wall to
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28 JOHN P. PETERS,
the southeast, during the second year of my excavations, and a
large trench was conducted at that point through the successive
strata underlying these buildings. This trench was very much
enlarged by Mr. Haynes and carried still deeper. The general
results of the examination of the successive strata at this point
were as follows :
The houses or rooms described above had their foundations 18
feet below the surface, and rested upon earth, well packed to-
gether, 3 feet in depth. This again rested upon a mass of rubble
and debris containing no walls, but great quantities of bricks and
fragments of bricks with inscriptions of Meli-Shiha, and also
bricks with green glazed surfaces. The same stratum was found
at the same depth on the northwest side, on the southwest, and
on the northeast — that is, on all four sides of the ziggurat. This
would seem to indicate that there had been a very thorough demo-
lition of some former structures before that restoration of the
temple which gave the ziggurat its cruciform shape and sur-
rounded it with the buildings of unbaked brick which have been
described above. It would also seem that the last important
builder before the reconstruction, which I have referred to the
late Babylonian empire, was Meli-Shiha. This Meli-Shiha, who,
as we shall find shortly, played a very important part in the
reconstruction of the temple, was identified by Prof. Hilprecht, in
his Old Babylonian Inscriptions (p. 55), with Meli-Shikhu, a king
of Babylon of the Cossrean dynasty, who ruled 1171-1157 B. c.
Now, however, on the basis of further examination of more in-
scriptions, Prof. Hilprecht reads the same not Meli-Shiha, but
Ashurbanipal, thus changing the date to 669-626 b. c.
The ni-iss of debris and rubble, as stated, was about 4 feet in
thickness. Below this, to the southeast of the ziggurat, and ex-
tending as far as the inner wall with the round towers, indicated
on the plans, there existed, apparently as late as Meli-Shiha's time,
an open court paved in brick. Various fragments of pave-
ments were found in different parts of this space, and at one place
three successive pavements occurred within a space of five feet.
Inscribed bricks found in some fragments of pavement show
that one of these was the work of Ur-Ninib, king of Isin, perhaps
about 2600 b. c. The other pavements consisted of uninscribed
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYL VA N1A EXCA VA TIONS A T NIPPUR. 2 J>
bricks, and it is therefore impossible to assign to them a certain
date until further excavations at the north and south shall dis-
cover buildings connected with this platform which may enable
us to do so.
During this whole period the line which is now marked by the
inner wall on the plans seems to have been the boundary of
this court toward the southeast, and the two conical solid towers
which were exposed by my excavations as forming part of the
last great reconstruction of the temple, appear to have been in
existence at the same place during this whole period. These
great towers I am inclined to compare with the columns called
Jachin and Boaz before the temple of Yahweh, at Jerusalem,
with the similar columns before the temple at Hierapolis, and
before Phoenician temples. Similar columns also existed in tem-
ples in Arabia, and the towers found by Bent in his excavations
in Mashonaland seem to be of the same character. I suppose
these towers, therefore, to have been sacred pillars representing
the principle of life — gigantic, conventionalized phalli. They do
not differ in shape or position from the columns used in the tem-
ples mentioned, but only in material and size.
At about 30 feet below the surface of the plateau of the temple,
to the southeast of the ziggurat, we came upon a pavement of
Ur-Gur, about 2800 b. c. This was of crude brick eight feet
thick at its thickest point. It constituted an enormous platform
or terrace, on the northeastern edge of which stood the ziggurat,
while the southeastern part, as far as the towers, was an open
court. This court was flanked, at least on part of its northeast-
ern side, by buildings, but its further dimensions we do not know.
Immediately below this was found at one point another pavement
of bricks of unusual size, 18 and 20 inches square, with a thick-
ness of three inches. This pavement was identified by Mr.
Haynes as a pavement of the time of Naram-Sin, king of Akkade,
3750 B. c, or of Sargon, his father, 3800 b. c, by comparison of
inscribed bricks of these same monarchs found elsewhere. Im-
mediately to the northwest of the temple is a plain, bounded on
the northern side by a wall line, which seems to be the outer wall
of the city at that point. I conducted excavations here in the
second year of my work, and later Mr. Haynes did the same with
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30 JOHN P. PETERS.
greater success. This wall was found to consist in its lower part
of unbaked bricks, stamped with the stamp of Naram-Sin, king
of Akkade, the stamped face turned down. Immediately above
this, with no intervening work, was found a wall of Ur-Gur.
The bricks of Naram-Sin were of singularly large size, of well-
mixed clay, tempered with chopped straw, carefully moulded and
thoroughly dried, so as to attain an unusual hardness and firm-
ness of texture. The bricks of Ur-Gur are of almost equal excel-
lence, but of small size, and of a shape much resembling our
ordinary modern bricks. So characteristic are the bricks of Ur-
Gur that it is generally possible to determine a structure of his
without inscriptions. The bricks of Naram-Sin, and of Sargon,
his father, seem to be equally characteristic in a quite opposite
direction ; and it seems, therefore, safe to assign this fragment of
a platform to one of these kings, especially since their work was
immediately below that of Ur-Gur in the outer city wall.
It should be added that the platform of Naram-Sin or Sargon
was not coterminous with that of Ur-Gur above it, for at various
points in the great trench and elsewhere on the plateau I discov-
ered walls of unbaked brick, among which were three door sock-
ets of Sargon, king of Akkade — two of them apparently in place
and one inverted. I also found at this level a clay brick-stamp
of the same king. There were also found here quantities of vases
and vase fragments, chiefly in marble, of a new king, " Alu-Shar-
shid, king of the city," who has been identified by Prof. Hil-
precht as ot the same dynasty, and approximately, therefore, of
the same time as Sargon and Naram-Sin. Other fragments of
vases of this latter king, it should be added, were found both by
Mr. Haynes and myself above the level of the Ur-Gur platform,
some of them containing a second inscription of that Gande men-
tioned above, whom Prof. Hilprecht identifies with Gandash,
founder of the Cossaean dynasty, and who, therefore, ruled about
1450 b. c. It would seem that the stratum of the dynasty of
Akkade, containing remains of the three kings, Sargon, Naram-
Sin and Alu-Sharshid, lay in general immediately below that of
the dynasty of Ur, represented by Ur-Gur as its great builder.
The depth of the bottom of the Ur-Gur stratum was nine metres,
of that of the Sargon stratum about 11.5 to 12 metres. Mr.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 31
Haynes continued the trench to a point some 16 feet below the
bottom of the Ur-Gur platform, or about 54 feet beneath the sur-
face, and sank a shaft to the depth of 68J feet, at which point
he says that he reached virgin soil, although water was reached at
a slightly higher level. My excavations were carried down syste-
matically to a point 11.5 metres below the surface, and by a shaft
I descended to the depth of 14 metres, or 46 feet. At the depth
of 12.95 metres I found a large jar, the same as those found
through all periods down into the postxBabylonian. Below the
depth of about 40 feet nothing was found by which dates could
be fixed. It will be seen from the above figures that, according
to the dates ordinarily accepted by Assyriologists, the upper 40
feet of accumulations in this great trench represent a period of not
less than 4500 years ; how long a period was represented by the
28 J feet below this level we have as yet no way of determining.
Figure 10 gives a view from a sketch by Mr. Meyer of the
condition of Mr. Haynes' excavations at the end of the great
trench toward the ziggurat, and including the eastern corner of
the ziggurat, on Sept. 10th, 1894, after the great southeastern wing
or buttress and the late ziggurat wall built over that of Ur-Gur
had been removed. I will quote Mr. Haynes' explanation of this
drawing :
" A is Ur-Gur's burned brick wall, forming the fa$ade of the
lowest stage of the ziggurat.
B shows a small part of the causeway (of Ur-Gur).
C and D are wells sunk to the water-level.
E is the altar (this will be described later ; its upper surface
was nine feet below the level of the Ur-Gur platform).
F is a curb of peculiar archaic-looking brick, seven courses
high. It seems to mark a sacred enclosure, possibly extending
around the earlier temple. It has been traced through the tunnels
SS to the southwestern side of the great southeastern projection ot
the cruciform temple of later Babylonian times. Its limits have
not been found. (The same wall was found by me under the
ziggurat, at its western corner.)
G is a section of the pavement on which the bitumen construc-
tion was laid to protect the foundations of Ur-Gur's ziggurat from
falling rain. This pavement, from front to back, is ten feet wide.
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82 JOHN P. PETERS.
H. — In a tunnel underneath this pavement at H is shown a sec-
tion of the very ancient wall recently discovered. This wall has-
about the same batter as the later wall of Ur-Gur above it. Both
s
p
§
N
H
a
H
©
w
s
8
w
W
PS
I
o
M
w
walls are in the same plane. Ilence it can be literally said that
Ur-Gur built upon older foundations, although a thick platform
lies between the two walls.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 88
K. — The pavement KK lies eight feet below the foundations of
TJr-Gur's ziggurat. It extends at least forty feet toward the
northeast. Its limits toward the southeast are a matter of con-
jecture. The bricks in this pavement are about the same size and
mould as the bricks of Sargon and Naram-Sin already found.
Ur-Gur laid his great platform on the level of this pavement.
M. — The pavement M apparently belongs to the construction
whose wall is marked OOO.
N. — N is a very old wall, which evidently antedates Ur-Gur,
since it interrupted his platform, and lies wholly within the plat-
form itself.
OP represents a tunnel following the ruined wall 000 toward
the northeast, a distance of eighty feet and three inches, to the
•eastern corner of the building. The foundations of this building
And the temple of Bel are on the same level. At least the south-
western end of this building seemed to have been filled solid with
crude bricks of the Ur-Gur size, form, color and texture. Could
it have been a temple to Beltis, repaired by Ur-Gur ?"
Figure 2 represents excavations in the same trench three
months earlier, and gives a good view of the causeway of Ur-
Gur, which was just visible on the extreme left of Figure 10.
The walls of this causeway are each four feet thick, of burned
bricks, most of them stamped with the name of Ur-Gur, laid
In bitumen. These walls are nine feet apart, and the intervening
space is filled with libben or unbaked brick.
Figure 11 gives a more detailed view of the archaic curb marked
Fig. 11.— Ancient Curb Forty Fket Below the Surface.
P on Fig. 10, and Fig. 12 represents one of the plano-convex
tricks of this curb. The foundations of this wall Mr. Hayne
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84 JOHN P. PETERS.
reports as being 13J feet below the bottom of the Ur-Gur wall,
which would make it identical in level with the wall of precisely
similar construction found by me under the western corner of the
Fig. 12. — Rude Burned Brick from the above Archaic Curb.
ziggurat, and render still more probable Mr. Haynes' proposition
that it enclosed a sacred area. The remains of this wall were 18
inches high, and the bricks were laid in mud in courses alternately
lengthwise and crosswise. It seems to be older than the time of
Sargon, as it is below his level.
Before the ziggurat, beneath the Ur-Gur level, in the stratum
elsewhere assigned to the Sargon dynasty, was found an oven,
in which was discovered a new baked clay tablet. This tablet
has not yet been deciphered. Like some other tablets found at
similar low levels, it is inscribed on one side only. Immediately
above the Ur-Gur wall, in the same trench, were found a number
of other tablets of most exquisite workmanship, which, like this,
have not yet been deciphered. To the northeast of the ziggurat
projection, was found a pottery drain in place. The accompany-
ing Figures 13 and 14 give excellent illustrations of different forms*
\f-WA. t'n'xv
V%' TNfCk .
«... ""'■ «*7
Fig. 18. — Terracotta Drains Found in Mound No. 8.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 35
of these drains, so characteristic of the
ruin mounds of Babylonia from the
time before Sargon up to the latest
period. Sometimes they are composed
of rings made for the purpose, some- \
times jars are broken at top and bottom
and fitted together, as in Fig. 13, No. 2.
These drains are often 40 or 50 feet in
depth.
I have now given a survey of the
6trata unearthed in the great trench to
the southeast of the ziggurat. More
important results were obtained by the
careful excavation ol the ziggurat itself.
It was ascertained that the ziggurat
which forms the core of the existing
structure was the work of Ur-Gur.
Toward the northeastern edge of his
solid platform of unbaked brick, eight
feet in thickness, Ur-Gur erected a zig-
gurat in three stages. The lowest of
these stages was 20J feet in height, the
sides sloping upward at the rate of one
in four. The second terrace set back
13 \ feet from the surface of the one be-
low it. The height of this terrace at
its slope I am unable to give, as also
that of the terrace above. The lower
terrace was faced with burned brick on Fig. 14.— Tekracotta Drain;
the southeastern side looking toward lNLET ™OMQMouND VIII>
& v and Lower Section of the
the great open court. On all of the same Drain.
other sides there was a foundation of baked bricks four courses
high and eight wide, above which the material used was unbaked
brick covered with a plaster of fine clay mixed with chopped
straw, which, being often renewed, preserved the crude bricks-
beneath as well as if they had been burned by fire. In the mid-
dle of each of these three sides was a conduit for the purpose ot
carrying away water from the upper surface of the ziggurat
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86 JOHN P. PETERS.
Fig. 16. — Water Conduit on the S. W. Face of the Ziggurat.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 87
(Figures 15 and 16). This conduit was built of baked brick, and
had an inner breadth of 3£ feet and a depth of 10J feet. There
was apparently a similar arrangement for carrying off the water
1
ie**rtm*. //crw.
Fig. 16.— Water Conduit on S. W. Side or the Zioqurat. (Scale, .078 in. = l ft.)
in the second and third stages ; but it was ruined beyond pos-
sibility of restoration. Indeed, both of these stages were so
ruined by water that it was difficult to trace or to restore them.
Around the base of the ziggurat, on all sides, was a plaster of
bitumen, sloping outward from the ziggurat, with gutters to carry
off the water. By this arrangement the apparently very perish-
able foundation of unburned brick was thoroughly protected from
destruction, and unburned brick, protected like this, is, at least
in the climate of Babylonia, one of the most imperishable mate-
rials of construction that can be found.
The first important change in the form of the ziggurat was
made by Kadashman-Turgu, 1257-1241 b. c. lie built around
the ziggurat of Ur-Gur on three sides, at the base, a casing wall
of brick sixteen courses, or 4£ feet, in height, but preserved and
utilized the conduits of Ur-Gur. His is the wall exhibited at the
base in Figures 15 and 16.
The next great reconstruction was undertaken by Meli-Shiha.
Upon the casing wall of Kadashman-Turgu he erected at a
slightly different angle, and somewhat set back from the other, a
second wall. The conduits on the southwestern, northwestern
and northeastern sides he filled up with bricks — many of them
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88 JOHN P. PETERS.
Fiq. 17. — N. E. Facade of the Ziggurat Showing the Buttressed or
Paneled Wall of Mkli-Shiha and a Fragment of the
Later Wall Above.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 39
stamped with his name — and the upper part of the lower terrace
he faced on these three sides with a paneled wall of brick (Fig.
17), giving to the ziggurat quite a different appearance from that
which it had hitherto possessed, and enlarging its dimensions, so
that when left by him it measured 170 feet by 125 in length and
breadth, or very little less than the ziggurat of the temple of Sin
at Ur. The reconstructions of Kadashman-Turgu and of Meli-
Shiha seem to indicate a filling up of the surface immediately
about the ziggurat by the washing down of mud from above.
This process continued through the ages until, as we shall see,
the greater part of the ziggurat was ultimately buried beneath
the accumulations washed down from its own upper surfaces.
Fig. 18, like the rest, from Mr. Meyer's drawings, gives a section
A «
Fig. 18.— Section of N. E. Wall of Ziggurat, Thirty Feet from
E. Corner. (Scale, .100 in. = 1 ft.)
view of the northeastern wall of the ziggurat after Meli-Shiha's
restoration. Within is seen the original wall of Ur-Gur, the two
lower courses of which continue outward and form the two lower
courses of Kadashman-Turgu's wall also. In front of TJr-Gur's
wall, on this side, was a filling of crude brick three feet in thick-
ness, and in front of this Kadashman-Turgu's wall of about the
same thickness. Kadashman-Turgu's wall is 4J feet high, rising,
with the foundation of Ur-Gur beneath, to the six foot level.
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40
JOHN P. PETERS.
Upon the wall of Kadashman-Turgu, for three feet, stands the
foundation of Meli-Shiha's wall, at a different angle, as stated ;
and above this, but setting back from it, the paneled wall de-
scribed above rises still nine feet further. The drawing shows
the peculiar curvature of the upper wall of Meli-Shiha.
Figure 19 represents the elevation of the northeastern side
of the northwestern facade, and shows the later structure erected
on Meli-Shiha's wall. A represents the wall of Kadashman-
Turgu, B and C that of Meli-Shiha in its two parts. On this-
"H .„
rrr
Fig. 19. — Elevation and Plan of the N. W. Facade of the Ziggurat ,.
at N. E. End. (Scale, .042 in. = 1 ft.)
was built, at a later date, a wall of unbaked brick (D), of which
three courses remain. The crude bricks of this wall are the
characteristic bricks of the great reconstruction of the temple
•which gave the ziggurat its cruciform shape, and which cover-
ed the ground about the ziggurat on all sides with the rooms,
houses and corridors shown in the plans. These bricks are large,
almost square, of rather rough work — in many cases pieces of pot-
tery being used to fasten the clay together in place of straw.
The builder who erected this wall upon that of Meli-Shiha also-
added the wings or projections on all four sides of the ziggurat,
and built over almost the entire ziggurat a new construction of
unbaked brick, reducing at the same time the number of stages from
three to two (Fig. 20). The rooms about the ziggurat were dove-
tailed into the new structure. At a later date the brick wall,
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCA VATIONS AT NIPPUR. 41
marked E on the plan, was built upon the remains of the wall of
unbaked brick (D). This wall is of very late date, and composed,
not of bricks made for the purpose, but of bricks taken from other
constructions, so that the names of a large number of kings are
found upon the bricks in this wall. Mr. Haynes suggests that at
the time when this wall was built the ground about the ziggurat
had been raised by the mud washed down from the surface to the
point marked D, so that this wall was really built upon the surface
Fig. 20. — Wall of Ziggurat, N. W. Sidk, Showing Latkst Additions.
at that time. This seems quite probable in view of the relation
to this wall of the late structures built above the level of the
houses on the plateau.
We have thus rapidly surveyed the history of the ziggurat in
its reconstructions ; but it must be added that other kings did
work upon both the ziggurat and the temple, besides those who
are responsible for the great reconstructions. An examination of
two of the corners of the ziggurat showed that at some time they
had been removed almost down to the bottom and afterwards
built up again. The bricks of both Ur-Gur and Meli-Shiha were
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42 JOHN P. PETERS.
originally laid in bitumen, but the bricks at the corners of the
wall were laid in mud mortar (only those of Meli-Shiha|and Ur-
Gur having bitumen adhering to them) thus giving evidence that
these corners had been removed for some purpose and then built
up again. Among the bricks of other kings found in thejziggurat
were those of Bur-Sin, Ishme-Dagan and Kurigalzu,and among
those found elsewhere in the temple were bricks of Bur-Sin of
Isin and Esarhaddon of Assyria, showing that many kings of
many ages had honored the temple of Bel at Nippur. Only Ne-
buchadrezzar ii of Babylon, the great builder of temples in other
parts of Babylonia, is conspicuous by his absence.
And now, to go back to the ziggurat of Ur-Gur, it will be
asked, "What was the object of the ziggurat?" "How was
access had to its upper terraces?" and " Where, if at all, were
sacrifices offered in connection with it?"
In answer to the first question, I would say that this particular
temple of Bel, the Lord, whose proper name was En-Lil (Lord of
the Storm), was itself known as E-Kur, or Mountain House.
From a comparison of this ziggurat with others, in Assyria and
Babylonia, with those described as existing in Southern Arabia,
and with Jewish, Phoenician and Syrian temples, as we have them
described in the Bible and other ancient sources, from a con-
sideration of the traditions of mountain-worship existing among
Semitic peoples, which we find so well illustrated in the Bible by
the high places and also by the traditions regarding Sinai, Horeb
and the like, and above all from a study of the description which
Herodotos gives of the temple of Bel Merodach at Babylon, I
have been led to suppose that ziggurats (the word seems to mean
peak or high place) were nothing more than conventional moun-
tains, and that the Deity was conceived of as inhabiting a Holy
of Holies on the summit of these mountains, where he dwelt
unseen, enshrined in darkness. Herodotus describes a chamber
containing no image as existing on top of the ziggurat of Bel
Merodach at Babylon.
There were found at the top of the ziggurat at Nippur large
numbers of bricks which seem to have belonged to some struct-
ure, although no walls could be found in place. It will be re-
membered also that on the summit of the ziggurat of the temple
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UNI VERSITY OF PENNSYL VA NIA EXCA VA TIONS A T NIPPUR. 43
of Nebo, at Borsippa, there are great masses of brick. In the
case of the ziggurat at Nippur, I am inclined to think that these
bricks represent a chamber or shrine which once stood upon the
summit of the ziggurat, like that described by Herodotus as exist-
ing on the top of the temple of Bel Merodach at Babylon.
In answer to the second question — " How were the upper stages
of the ziggurat reached ? " — we found, as stated, a causeway run-
ning from a point at about the outer great wall of the temple,
southeast of the ziggurat, up to the ziggurat. It was impossible
to determine whether the ascent on this causeway was by steps
or by an inclined plane, although I suppose the latter to be the
more probable. Access was had from the lower terrace to the
upper terraces apparently by a continuation of this same cause-
way.
In answer to the question, "Where, if at all, were sacrifices
offered in connection with the ziggurat?" I would say that
beneath the platform of Ur-Gur, in front of the southeastern side
of the ziggurat, between the causeway and the eastern corner,
stood (as shown on Fig. 10) an altar. This altar was of unbaked
brick some 13 feet in length. On this was a ring of bitumen
seven inches in height, the surface within which was wholly cov-
ered with ashes ; some of them bone ashes. To the southwest
of this altar was a sort of bin or receptacle of crude brick, full of
ashes to the depth of about a foot. This altar was apparently in
use at the period of Sargon, although its foundations may have been
more ancient. No altar was found at any other level, but I am
inclined to reason from this altar to the position of the altar at all
times, and suppose that sacrifices were offered at the foot of the
ziggurat, on its southeastern side — -just as in the temple of Yah-
weh at Jerusalem sacrifices were offered upon an altar which
stood outside of and beneath the elevated or holy place on its
eastern side. The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies in the tem-
ple at Jerusalem seem to me to correspond to the ziggurat and
the chambers upon it in the temple of Bel at Nippur, in the sense
that the temple at Jerusalem was a development from a zig-
gurat temple, like that of Bel at Nippur.
The notice of this altar which stood below the platform of Ur-
Gur leads me, finally, to note the constructions found beneath the
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44 JOHN P. PETERS.
Ur-Gur level. In front of this altar, at a distance of six feet from
it, as already noted, ran a wall of most archaic construction,
which also appeared under the western corner of the ziggurat,
and which may at some time have been the boundary of an inner
Holy Place — the court of the priests. In exploring at Mughair I
thought that I found traces of a similar wall around the ziggurat
of the temple of Sin at that place.
Beneath the platform of Ur-Gur, under the eastern corner of
the ziggurat, was found a construction which, from the bricks
composing it and about it, Mr. Haynes thinks to have dated from
the time of Xaram Sin, or his father Sargon. The walls, of
admirable construction, were standing to the height of 11 feet,
and the platform of Ur-Gur's ziggurat rested immediately upon
these walls. The building of which these walls formed a part
proved on examination to be a solid tower 23 feet square, but no
ziggurat — unless, indeed, this were the lower stage of a ziggurat
of very small dimensions. Xo traces were found of any ziggu-
rat earlier than the time of Ur-Gur, unless the tower above referred
to was, as suggested, a ziggurat of very small dimensions. Mr.
Haynes raises the question whether Ur-Gur was the first builder
of ziggurats in Babylonia, and calls attention to the fact that the
earliest ziggurats known, those of Xippur, Erech and Ur, are all
his workmanship. That there was from a much earlier time a
temple at Xippur on the same site as in the days of Ur-Gur, and
with the same name, is shown by the inscriptions of Sargon and
Alu-Sharshid. The only question is as to the form of that
temple.
Beneath the tower mentioned above Mr. Haynes found an
arched drain, the arch of which he describes as u Roman," but
no full description and no drawings or photographs of it have yet
come to hand. He also found bricks laid in lime mortar. He
also found at the same depth a great quantity of clay water-cocks
(Fig. 21), which, as he points out, are identical with those manu-
factured and used as driuking-fountains in many parts of Turkey
to-day. To get a drink one closes with the hand the small lower
orifice, whereupon the water fills the cock, and one drinks with
the mouth directly from the large upper orifice.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 45
There were also found at this same level, and near to the
square tower, some fragments of unbaked tablets, together with
Fio. 21.— Water Vent Forty-Five Feet Below the Surface S. E. of
THE ZlOGURAT.
pieces of clay prepared or being prepared to receive inscriptions,
thus proving that as early as the time of Sargon (3800 b. a), clay
tablets were used for purposes of writing. (It may be said that
the earliest dated tablet yet found anywhere, which was found at
Nippur, is a tablet of Dungi, the son of Ur-Gur.) Fifteen feet
lower than the level of the drain, the water-cocks, and so forth,
but in the great trench (1 on the plan), and not under the ziggurat,
Mr. Haynes also discovered a mortar of burned clay, a stone vase
perforated with several holes, and a gutter of burned clay, meant
to serve as a gargoyle to conduct water from the roof. The frag-
ments of pottery and the bricks found at this and even lower
levels were practically identical with those found at much higher
levels, showing a homogeneity of civilization and culture through-
out. In other words, from the stratum of the late Babylonian
constructions down to a stratum twenty feet and more below the
stratum of Sargon, we have everywhere the remains of a high and
practically homogeneous civilization. Now, in view of the mass of
accumulations beneath the Sargon level, if, with practically all Assy-
riologists, we accept for Sargon the date 3800 b. c, we must sup-
pose the earliest constructions on the site of the temple of Bel at
Nippur to have been erected as early as 6000 b. c, and perhaps even
earlier, and that civilization in Babylonia had been carried to this
high state at that very early date. (On geological grounds I
have argued that the foundation of Ur and Eridu was between
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46 JOHN P. PETERS.
6000 and 7000 b. c.) There is, according to the measurements
given above, 20 feet of debris to be accounted for before the time
of Sargon, and we can hardly assign for this a shorter period than
2000 years.
After Sargon's time the dating of the strata and the rate of
accumulation seem to be satisfactory until we reach the stratum
of Meli-Shiha. If he were Meli-Shikhu (1171-1157 b. a), as at
first supposed by Prof. Hilprecht, the genera] proportions of accu-
mulation would be approximately correct; but if he be Ashur-
banipal of Assyria (669-626 b. a), as Prof. [Hilprecht seems now
to have proved him to be, then the accumulations between him
and his immediate predecessors seem to have been abnormally
slow, and those after his date as abnormally rapid. Whoever he
was, he was one of the greatest of the builders of Nippur and the
most artistic. He used burned bricks and glazed bricks freely,
and some of the brick constructions embedded in the later masses
of unburned brick presumably date from him. After his time
came a great catastrophe. Everything except the ziggurat was
razed and rebuilt, and even that was totally changed in appear-
ance and built over, if not rebuilt. Who it was who thus rebuilt
the temple we do not know, although on general grounds I have
assigned this work to the neo-Babylonian period. It certainly
cannot be later than that ; and if Meli-Shiha were not Ashurbani-
pal, I might even have supposed it to be earlier. Whoever did
the work was certainly a great builder, and the walls, terraces
and the like of this reconstruction are really of astounding size
and fine construction. Nebuchadrezzar is the only later monarch
of whom I can think who would have been likely to have under-
taken a work of such dimensions ; but as he used burned bricks
stamped with his own name more freely than any monarch of
whom we know, the absence of such bricks from this construc-
tion seems to be proof positive that he was not the builder.
John P. Peters.
St. Michael's Church, New York,
March 6, 1895.
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NECROLOGY,
BRUCSCH-PASHA.
Henry Brugsch was born on the 12th of February, 1827, in Berlin.
His father, a subaltern officer of the uhlans, who educated him in
military discipline, sent him to the "Latin-school." At the age of
twelve the boy was attracted by the Egyptian monuments of the royal
collection (very insignificant at that time), and at the age of sixteen
he published his first treatise on Egyptology, written in Latin (De natura
et indole linguae papillaris, etc.) This essay excited general interest
because scholars had left the study of the demotic script of the
ancient Egyptians almost untouched since Young and Champollion
had made a few steps in its decipherment. Now a young student at
the "gymnasium" had the courage to take it up. Alexander von
Humboldt participated in the general interest, and that essay was
printed at his expense. Humboldt continued to be the gracious
patron of the talented but poor young scholar, and after Brugsch had
left the university with the degree of doctor, he procured for him
travelling scholarships which enabled him to visit all the museums
of Egyptian antiquities, and, finally, Egypt itself, in 1853.
There Brugsch met Mariette, who had just opened the tombs of the
apis-bulls. This period was mainly devoted to the same studies
with which he had begun, and in 1855 he published, as a crown-
ing work, his Grammaire Demotique. This book has been more
admired than studied, because up to date demotic studies have, for
good reasons, never been very popular. Brugsch seems to have felt
this, for he began to turn his attention more and more to the hiero-
glyphic monuments. At that time, in Germany, certain men, such as
Spohn, Seyffarth (who died in America some years ago) and Uhle-
man, had questioned the correctness of Champollion's system of
deciphering, and, not giving a new system themselves, but disfiguring
Champollion's results, they decried all his adherents and followers so
successfully that, before 18(50, Lepsius, almost the only German
Champollionist, was at great disadvantage. Brugsch has done much
to remove these perverting influences, beginning with his treatises
(Latin and German, 1851), on the Rosetta stone. His second Egyptian
47
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48 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
journey, in 1859, enabled him to do more in hieroglyphics. The
Monuments de FEgypte were the first fruit, but this work remained a
fragment, like his Histoire de VEgypte. Far more important were the
Geographie et Inscriptions (1856-60), in which he took up quite a new
kind of philological research.
In 1863 he had the extremely happy idea of founding a journal
which should be devoted entirely to the promotion of Egyptolog-
ical studies (the Zeitschrift fur agyptische Sprache und Alterthumskunde) .
The rapid progress of Egyptology is due especially to the exist-
ence of this organ, which, up to the present, has remained the
centre especially of grammatical researches. It is characteristic that
Brugsch, its bold founder, had to leave it in the hands of his rival,
Lepsius, who, owing to his unusual resources, managed it successfully
until 1884. After Lepsius' death it returned into the hands of
Brugsch, who had given it up when he went to Cairo as Prussian
consul. He remained only two years in this position. Of his different
works from that time forward I will mention only his Materiaux p.
servir a la reconstruction du calendrier des anc. Egyptiens, opening again a
new field of research.
It was in 1867 that he had his greatest success, the professorship
of Goettingen. This enabled him to begin his magnum opusy the
Hieroglyphic- Demotic Dictionary (1868-82) in seven large volumes,
all autographed by himself. But quiet Goettingen was not the
place for him, and soon he took leave for five years to return to
Egypt. The great boom of Ismail Pasha led to the establishment of
an Egyptological school for young Egyptians, but this met the fate of
most foundations of Ismail. Brugsch, who wrote for it one of his
least scientific but most useful books, the Hieroglyphic Grammar (1870,
French and German,) suffered financial and scientific disappointment.
He mentioned to me some very elementary subjects in which he had
to give instruction, instead of hieroglyphics. But he found time to
write several works, among which his Dictionnaire Geographique
(1879-89) holds the most important place. In 1876 he represented
Egypt at the Centennial Exposition of Philadelphia, having done so
before at Vienna. What he hoped for was the place of his best per-
sonal friend, A. Mariette, the director of the Egyptian excavations.
But when Mariette died, in 1881, the promises given to Brugsch were
not kept, and this desirable position was given to Maspero, as a
countryman of Mariette. Maspero on leaving it secured this position
for his students. Poor Brugsch returned to Germany. In 1884 he
entertained the hope, after the death of Lepsius, of succeeding to his
positions. But to the government Brugsch was not a persona grata,
and he was disappointed in a most cruel manner. Twenty years
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NECROLOGF. 49
before (in 1860) he had done a great service to his government by
taking the leadership of an embassy to Persia when it was threatened
with shipwreck, and had led it most successfully. Now he was
charged with a similar mission to Persia. When he returned he
found both positions of Lepsius, the professorship and the directorship
of the Berlin Museum, occupied. He retired to Charlottenburg, near
Berlin, in possession of several fine titles (Pasha, Legationsrath, Pro-
fessor), but in an unsatisfactory condition, especially financially,
owing to his large family. I can testify that he felt very strongly the
•constraint which forced him to lecture and to write for the sake of
money. He deserves our pardon for having written during this
period some Egyptological books which betray that they are not
written in a purely scientific interest (e. #., hisSiebenJahreder Hungers-
noth). For many years he had been a most unselfish writer, guided
only by love of his science. His immense work, the Thesaurus In-
icriptionum (1884-91), his work on the religion and mythology of the
Ancient Egyptians (1888), in which he again opened up a new field,
his Egyptology (1889), very much dependent on Erman's Aegypten, are
the better works of that last period. To give some relief to him the
government sent him repeatedly to Egypt to study, to excavate and
buy for the museum.
To give an impartial judgment of his scientific life, and; to differ
.somewhat from the usual panegyrical style of necrologists, it must be
confessed that he was undoubtedly lacking in strict philological
method. I believe his earliest period must be made responsible for
this. He began as a youthful prodigy, and from the journals of the
period one can see how much the young doctor was admired and
spoiled. This led him to neglect the philological drill in other disci-
plines which would have enabled him to systematize a young science.
He confessed to me in 1885: "I never had any interest in philologi-
cal hair-splitting ; the only thing that gave me pleasure was reading
and deciphering." This weakness is most painful in his Demotic
Grammar, even more than in the Hieroglyphic Grammar and in his
many philological essays. That lack of philological training explains
also why such a gifted draughtsman, whose handwriting, both
modern and hieroglyphic, was a marvel of beauty, published in his
earlier period such wretched copies of inscriptions. Especially in his
demotic facsimiles (and even in his Thesaurus of 1890) he would
41 correct" any word or sign unintelligible to him. Above all, I think
he was weak as a historian, as is shown in his History of Egypt (1875,
also in English). He never touched upon art and archaeology. But
his geniality and productivity were so enormous that he has furthered
his science far more than any other scholar since Champollion. I
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50 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCBJEOLOQY.
have enumerated only a fraction of his books, and none of his many
essays. Everywhere he has worked as a pioneer, everywhere science-
owes so many thanks to him that his merits outweigh his blunders,,
however many and serious they are. His dictionary is a book which
ought not to be put into the hand of a non-Egyptologist, but the
specialist finds in its immense collections of material an invaluable-
treasure. It is easy to discover a goodly percentage of blunders on
each page, to smile at his poor use of Coptic, at the unscientific com-
parisons with other languages (even the Aryan), but if Brugsch had
not had such courage and stupendous energy in 1868 should we have
such a dictionary at all, even now in 1894? The same can be said of
many other works, although each one ought to be marked " to be used
with caution." Some writings deserve much praise for their popular-
izing power. The most entertainiug of them is his late autobiography.
Brugsch might have been extremely useful as an academic teacher.
Anyone who has felt the magic power of his personality will admit
that no better man could be found to attract and to interest students
and to fill them with that glowing love of his science which made him
work up to the last moment. This unselfish zeal manifested itself in
the sacrifices of time and work for every young student to whom he
could be useful, even during the last years of complete hopelessness
and of cares. As I have been among these, and owe him several
debts of gratitude, I refrain from the unpleasant discussion why a
man with such wonderful gifts, also in social respects, had such a sad
life, full of failures. Some people ascribe it to his having assumed
some Oriental ways of thinking and living. It was rather a strange
unrest which also caused this most amiable, gentlemanlike person
(the chaperon of a dozen princes because of these uncommon quali-
ties) to begin several unprovoked literary quarrels with scholars of
merit (e. g. with Chabas). Possibly future ages will blame Brugsch's
contemporaries for not having overlooked these personal blemishes.
So much is certain, for love of science and industry his name will
always remain a shining example.
Philadelphia. W. Max Muller..
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CORRESPONDENCE.
NOTE TO "A TORSO FROM DAPHNE."
To the Editor of the Journal of Archaeology :
Dear Sir. — I find that the torso published by me in the Ameri-
can Journal of Archeology (vol. ix, pp. 53 ff.), had not been cata-
logued in the Deltion, but had been noticed by Milchhdfer in his
Antikenbericht aus Attika in the Mittheilungen, xm (1888), p. 346, as
lying in Chaidari, as far back as 1887. It is singular enough that in
the summer of 1892 it was brought into the Central Museum and re-
ported as one of several things excavated during the summer.
Rufu8 B. Richardson.
Athens, Feb. 11, 1895.
51
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.
W. FrOhner. La Collection Tyszkiewicz. Choix de Monuments An-
tiques avec texte explicatif. 4to. Verlagsanstalt f. Kunst und
Wissenschaft. Munich.
The famous collection of Count Tyszkiewicz, in Rome, is being
published in excellent style, the text by Frohner, the plates by the
Verlagsanstalt fur Kunst und Wissenschaft in Munich. Three of the
livraisons have already reached us.
The collection represents a catholic taste in ancient art. Egyptian,
Phoenician, Etruscan, Greek, Roman and Byzantine objects are repre-
sented. Marble and bronze sculpture, vases, jewelry, engraved gems
and inscriptions find a place here. Many of these are of extremely
fine quality, and it is a satisfaction to have them published with such
excellent plates. Of the vases especially noteworthy is a very delicate
kylix with brown figures outlined upon a white ground, representing
the Flight of Nephele. The extreme rarity of this class of vases and
the unique subject give this an unusual value. Unfortunately the
artist's signature is incomplete. The Greek bronzes extend over a
wide period. A bust of Aphrodite is attributed by Frohner to the
age of Homer, though we are inclined to put it not earlier than the vn
century. An archaic Jupiter also represents the vn century ; a head
of Apollon the vi ; a fine statuette of Venus and another of Apollon
the iv ; a Bacchus in repose, the Hellenistic period ; an excellent head
of Mars, the time of Augustus. A fine mirror-cover of bronze, repre-
senting Eros upon a dolphin, is an extremely effective work of the rv
century, and valuable for comparison with terracottas of the same
period.
Frohner's text is helpful and in general accurate. We should not,
however, describe as Hittite the Mycenaean gem upon Plate i, and to
our eye the finely engraved and striking gem, No. 12 on Plate xxiv,
in which Frohner sees a portrait of an ancient Mesopotamian king,
has a strikingly modern appearance. A. M.
52
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 5?
H. Stuart Jones. Select Passages from Ancient Writers illustra-
tive of the History of Greek Sculpture. 8vo, pp. xl-231. Pricer
$2.25. Maemillan & Co., 66 Fifth avenue, New York. 1895,
This volume is especially designed to aid students of the Classical
School at Oxford, who are required to present for examination the
subject of Greek sculpture ; but it has a wider function in presenting
in accessible form to English readers passages from ancient writers
illustrative of the history of Greek sculpture. It does not aim to sup-
ply the place of Overbeck's Antiken Schrlftquellen as a work of refer-
ence, since only two hundred and seventy-one passages are given,
instead of the twenty-four hundred quoted by Overbeck. The princi-
ple of selection has been to present such passages as contain informa-
tion of a descriptive character. These references and descriptions
afford, therefore, a running commentary from ancient sources upon
the history of Greek sculpture. They have been judiciously selected
and well arranged, as the table of contents will show. Some passages
not given by Overbeck are also published.
That such a volume will aid the student at Oxford to prepare for
his examinations is evident, for together with the passages from the
ancient authors is given a translation and brief but excellent notes.
The translation into English of these passages is, we trust, a work of
supererogation, if the work be designed chiefly for the benefit of the
Oxford classical student. But to the general public it will certainly
be a convenience to have in English this selection of classic references
to Greek sculpture. A. M.
Schreiber. Atlas of Classical Antiquities. Edited for English
use by Prof. W. C. F. Anderson, Firth College, Sheffield, with
a Preface by Prof. Percy Gardner. Price, $6.50. Macmillan
& Co., 66 Fifth Ave., New York.
We are glad to see the growing tendency amongst English classical
scholars, when translating foreign books, to make of them improved
editions more serviceable to the student. Such is eminently the case
with the present English edition of Schreiber's Kulturhistorischer Bilder-
atlas. That volume consists of one hundred engraved plates, each con-
taining a number of illustrations. These are arranged topically and
comprehend such subjects as the drama, music, technical methods of
sculpture and painting and architecture, religion, athletics, war, ships,
cities, arts and crafts, etc. In a few pages of introductory matter
Schreiber had four brief bibliographical references and gathered to-
gether in a very condensed form a classified table of contents. The
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54 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
English edition should be more useful to the student, not only because
it contains an enlarged text, but because the bibliographical references
are far more abundant and practical. Prof. Anderson has treated this
series of illustrations as if it were a museum collection, each object of
•which is figured and described. This essentially changes the point of
A*iew of the book. Schreiber refers to general treatises to which his
plates will serve as illustration ; Anderson presents the plates as the
starting point and the text as illustrative material. Thus the English
edition may be regarded as a convert from the philological and liter-
ary to the archaeological point of view. A. M.
Dehli and Chamberlin. Norman Monuments of Palermo and
Environs. A study by Arne Dehli, architect, author of " St.
Mark's and Venice " and " Ravenna," assisted by G. Howard
Chamberlin, architect. Folio, pp. xvm-30: with 12 helio-
type, 10 photo-grain, and 50 outline plates. Boston, Ticknor
k Co., 1894.
This book is welcome both in itself and as an encouraging sign that
our American architects are in some cases becoming aware of the im-
portance in modern practice of consulting and understanding the past-
It will not appeal in the least either to the majority who simply pil-
lage the past without caring how they mix and combine discordant
styles in their adaptations, or the other school that is settling down
into the narrow groove of classicism, and outside of it sees no good
thing. Mr. Dehli has the excellent taste to admire the wonderful
interiors of the Sicilian churches built by the Norman kings, and even
goes so far as to believe them unsurpassed in their rich and harmo-
nious unity. There are other books describing more in detail the
architecture of these churches, and there are sumptuous publications
reproducing their incomparable series of figured mosaics so important
for Christian art and iconography, but nowhere do we find such plates
as in this book, giving numerous details of the mosaic pavements and
wall dados and friezes, the designs of columns, choir screens, etc. Such
details are of great value for the designer and decorator as well as for
the historian. A similar service has been rendered for the Byzantine
work at Ravenna and at St. Mark's in Venice by Mr. Dehli himself in
his series of plates recently issued in Germany — though the title is
the only German thing about them : Architektonische und Ornamentale
Details in Byzantinischen Style in Italien.
While these outline plates are of especial interest to the practical
student, the other plates are of greater help to the aesthetic student.
But these are very unequal in character. The heliotypes are good,
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 55
and give a better idea of the beauties of Monreale — especially the inte-
riors in the choir and transepts — than any plates yet published; but
the so-called "photo-grains" are simply atrocious and murder their
.subjects.
The text has both good and bad points. One cannot expect an
architect to have the time to make himself the historian of the period
the art of which he is illustrating, so that it would be wrong to be
iiypercritical. Mr. Dehli, in his introduction, makes a profession of
faith in regard to his attitude toward the historic study of architecture.
He takes an independent view of the development of Mediaeval Archi-
tecture and kicks over received nomenclatures. He especially pro-
tests against the two categories of u Early Christian," which he also
calls classic Romanesque (why?) and "Byzantine." His reason is
that he finds Byzantine detail as prevalent throughout Italy (and
even Rome) as in the Orient. He does not think that it would be
ao universal were it not a child of Italian soil. He would have no
•difficulty, however, in accepting its Byzantine origin were he aware of
the complete supremacy of Byzantium in Italy during those centuries
— a fact not generally realized.
Mr. Dehli has a short chapter on the history of Sicily, which is full
of errors, some of which affect his understanding of the development
of art. Belisarius conquered the island for Byzantium under Justin-
ian, not under Julian. The Arabs took Palermo in 835, not 831, and
for some time after possessed but a small part of the country about
this city, not capturing Syracuse until 877. One cannot* understand
such a statement as this, that " the Byzantine period, like the suc-
ceeding Arab, has left no architectural monuments in Sicily, and, I
think, no reliable record of any." There are plenty of records, if Mr.
Dehli had taken the trouble to read them. Nor is there such obscu-
rity regarding the fate of the Byzantine population as he imagines.
There are plenty of proofs that it was concentrated especially in the
Val di Demena, the Val di Noto and at Messina, where there were no
Mussulmans, and also that a heavy emigration took place to the main-
land, especially to Calabria, which was thus helped to become entirely
•Greek. We know also that they enjoyed freedom of worship.
When the Normans conquered Sicily the population was Arab or
Byzantine, with a slight admixture of Lombards and Jews. Mr. Dehli
does not appear to recognize sufficiently the intervention of the Arabs
in the erection of the buildings of the Normans. The pointed arches
juniversally employed, the stalactite decoration, the Eastern decorative
painting of the church ceilings, the Egyptian designs in the decor-
ative mosaics, all go to show that the native Arab artists and others
imported from Egypt were largely responsible for the erection and
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66 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
decoration of the Norman churches and palaces. This was but natu-
ral in view of the magnificent aitistic development that had been
going on among the Mohammedans, both in Sicily and in Egypt, for
over a century. When Palermo was taken in 1072 by the Normans,
it is said that Duke Robert, having gone up to the top of the citadel,
gazed at the immense palaces of the Saracens, among which the
Church of the Virgin was hardly visible with its oven-shaped dome-
This church, the former Byzantine cathedral, had been turned into a
mosque, but now the archbishop, who had been transferred by the
Mohammedans to the small church of St. Cyriacus, was brought back
to the cathedral. It is probable that such buildings as this Byzantine-
cathedral served as models for the domes of the Norman churches,
which are precisely of this oven-shaped form. In almost all the
Sicilian churches of basilica! form, the transept and apse are built on
Byzantine model, and the nave and aisles combine the Mohammedan
and basilical forms.
The Norman conquest was not as casual a matter as Mr. Dehli
states — by taking a hand in a quarrel between two Arab sheiks (he-
means emirs). Nor was it unsuccessful until a final expedition in
1090, for the Normans never left the island after 1061, and substan-
tially subdued it as early as 1072, when they captured Palermo.
When Mr. Dehli states that we know very little of the Norman period
outside of dates and official history — often unreliable at that — it
seems as if he were giving a wrong impression. The material may
not be very accessible, but it exists, and most plentifully, as would be
patent to every one had Mr. Freeman been able to finish his history
of Sicily under the Normans. A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
La Gallerk Nazionali ItaMane. Ac izic. Documenti. Anno 1. Per
cura del Ministero del la Pubblica Istruzione. In-4o.Roma, 1894-
pp. VI-224.
The Ministry of Public Instruction has begun the publication of
the magnificent annual entitled "Le Galerie Nazionali Italiane." The
first year was published at the close of 1894, under the general editor-
ship of Professor Adolfo Venturi. The object of this publication is to-
announce the most recent acquisitions of the various galleries and
museums of Italy, to note the reorganization of the collections, the re-
attribution of special works and to publish a catalogue of those collec-
tions which come under the law of the Fidecommisso, about which there
have been so much litigation. This last work involves very careful re-
search, in order to discriminate between the works in private hands-
which are the private property of the owners and those which belong:
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 57
to the public domain. This is especially important in the case of the
Roman galleries, as was shown in connection with the collection of
Prince Sciarra. Finally, this publication will contribute new docu-
ments for the history of art.
This first volume contains the following articles: (1) The Brera
gallery in Milan with an account of two recently acquired paintings by
Francesco del Cossa, both of which are reproduced in fine phototype
plates ; they represent single figures of John the Baptist and St. Peter
and belong to the Ferrarese period of the master. The third acquisi-
tion is that of the Virgin and Child with saints by Galeazzo Campi of
Cremona, dated 1517. A report is also made upon the paintings be-
longing to the gallery, which at various times had been loaned by it to
different churches throughout Lombardy, which stood in need of
decoration. Among a good deal of rubbish there are quite a number
of important paintings, among which is one by Iacopo Bellini, dated
1453, and others by Vivarini, Cima, Palmezzano, Timoteo Vite, Fran-
cia, Garofalo, etc. (2) The second article, on the gallery of Parma, is
devoted almost entirely to an historical account, by its present director
Corrado Ricci, of the history and acquisitions of this gallery, of the dif-
ferent attempts at arranging it and of the new arrangement by which
for the first time the gallery has received a rational order. The direc-
tor gives quite a full study of the various painters of the school of
Parma, reaching out far beyond the limits of the gallery itself and
noting where it is especially deficient. The restorations and improve-
ments made throughout the city are also noted and a number of fine
phototype plates illustrate the paper ; namely : A Virgin and Child
with Saints by Caselli, the Madonna della Scodella by Correggio, the
St. Catherine among the doctors by Araldi and the Immaculate Con-
ception by Mazzola. (3) The next article is on the gallery and col-
lection of coins in Modena. This gallery also has been rearranged
under the direction of Professor Venturi, with the assistance of the
director of the gallery, Cantalamessa. The first hall contains only
works of the school of Ferrara, the artistic leader of the province. The
second hall is devoted to the schools derived from it or cognate to it,
including Modena, Parma, liologna, etc. The third hall contains all
other schools of the'fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Two plates are
given illustrating the Virgin and Child by Correggio and Christ bearing
the cross by Solario, recent gifts of Marquis Campori. A number of
other paintings have been added to the gallery; the most important
being, one by Agnolo degli Erri, who belonged to a family of painters
of Modena in the fifteenth century. In order to collect in the same lo-
cality all the objects of antiquity and of art that illustrate the artistic
activity of the province, the ministry of public instruction decreed the
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58 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY,
junction with the gallery of the collection of medals, coins, ivories,
bronzes, cameos and other antiquities, which had hitherto lain in the
museum of the city library. Five phototype plates illustrate this part of
the collection; two of them bronze vase3 with elaborate decoration in
relief by the famous Renaissance sculptor Andrea Briosco called II
Riccio. The third plate reproduces an important Italo-Byzantine ivory
carving of the close of the twelfth century. The two final plates give
inedited Renaissance medals,. of which a careful description is to be
found in the text. The small collection, of antiquities had until recent-
ly been entirely hidden from the public and packed in cases. It has
now been placed on exhibition and a synopsis of its contents is given
in this paper. (4) The next paper is on the Archaeological Museum of
Venice. It commences by a description of inedited medals and it is
illustrated by a plate of a work in high relief by Andrea Riccio and a
bust of the fifteenth century — perhaps that of Doge Leonardo Lore-
dano — both in bronze. An article on the Florence galleries is merely
a catalogue of the additions that have been made to them, either by
gift or purchase, commencing with the gifts of Dr. Arthur de Noe
Walker. A plate is given of the most important of these, a figure of
Venus by Lorenzo de Credi. Of a different character is the report on
Roman galleries that come under the Fidecommisso law. The ministry
of public instruction confided the task of drawing up a catalogue of
the paintings in these different collections to Cav. Giulio Cantalamessa.
He announced in this brief report that he has presented to the minis-
try the volumes of these descriptive catalogues of the galleries, togeth-
er with detailed reports upon each one of them, and the present paper
is a summary report giving a synopsis of the work done, of the methods
employed, of the diffi3ulties met with and all the circumstances con-
nected with a task of such delicacy and difficulty. Especial reference
is made to the Borghese, the Sciarra, the Doria-Pamphili, the Spada,
the Baberini, the Colonna and the Ro3pigliosi collections. The second
part of the paper is devoted to a short report upon the ancient sculp-
tures in the possesion of R >man collectors, coming under the same
law. It was made by Dr. Mariani and in its descriptive portions was
made comparatively easy by full catalogues of ancient sculpture in
Rome, which have been already published. The only difficulty met
with was in carefully distinguishing between the objects that were pri-
vate property and those that were the property of the nation. The
final article is upon Civic Italian Museums. This consists merely of
a report from the inspector of Pisan monuments (Supino) upon the
Civic Museum recently established by citizen vote in Pisa, with the ob-
ject of securing a better exhibition of many works of art existing in the
city. The collection has been located in the monastery of St. Francis.
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 59
It is especially important for Mediaeval art, and contains many illumi-
nated manuscripts, enamels, pieces of gold and silver work, Byzantine
and Gothic embroideries, ivory carvings, especially a coffer of Italico-
Byzantine style of the x century. The second hall contains a chrono-
logical exhibit of paintings beginning with the Byzantine, Pisan and
Lucchese schools, including those by Giunta and the Berlinghieri, ex-
amples of the Sienese and Florentine schools with Simone di Martino
and the followers of Giotto. One of the remote successors of Giunta
represented by a dated painting is Giovanni di Nicola. Among the
Tvorks of the Sienese school, is one dated 1856 by Luca Tome. One of
the most important of the paintings is a signed work by Barnaba of
Modena, representing the Virgin and Child. The Florentine school of
the xiv and xv centuries is very well represented. The fragments of
the pulpit which was executed by Giovanni Pisano for the Cathedral,
are being put together in the museum.
The volume closes with a specimen of the original documents, the
publication of which will be one of the features of this new Annual. The
•document in this case is a book of accounts (Libro dei Conti) of the
Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto, whose life and work have been brought
prominently before the public of late, especially by the writings of one
of our American critics, Bernhard Berenson. In a brief introduction
to the document itself, Professor Venturi calls attention to the interest-
ing facts in regard to the life and work of the artist that are brought
out in the text. It gives us quite an intimate glimpse of his charac-
ter, of his friends and of his family, and allows us to keep him com-
pany in his many journeys, in his many contracts, and to follow the
vicissitudes of his financial condition. His diary is a proof of his ex-
traordinary activity and of the abundance of the works with which he
•decorated five provinces of Italy : Venice, Treviso, Bergamo, Ancona
and Macerata. The catalogue of these works, drawn up from his regis-
ter, extends from the year 1538 to the year 1554.
A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
"Wilhelm Bode. Den/cmaler der Renaissance Sculptur Toscanas.
Verlagsanstalt lur Kunst und Wissenschaft. Munchen.
We take pleasure in recommending to the attention of our readers
this important publication. The enterprising publishers, who have
already won the gratitude of the art-loving world by their magnifi-
cent publications, here accomplish for Tuscan Renaissance sculpture
•of the xv and xvi centuries the same service which they have done
for Greek and Roman sculpture in the publication of Brunn's Denk-
maler. The work is now coming out in parts, containing phototype
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60 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
plates in folio and text in quarto. The plates are generally excellent,
being made from clear negatives and well printed ; and the text by
Dr. Bode is comprehensive, condensed and well adapted to its pur-
pose. This work, in spite of its expensive character, should find its
way into all important libraries where the history of art is cultivated,
for it is only from such comprehensive corpuses of photographic re-
productions that the history of sculpture can be conveniently studied.
Whether publications of this character are thoroughly adapted to
the financial capabilities of the art-loving public, the publishers doubt-
less know by the measure of success with which their enterprises
have been greeted. We should imagine, however, that the general
public is now sufficiently educated and interested in the history of art
to demand even more comprehensive corpuses of smaller illustrations
at less cost. A. M.
II Codice Atlantico di Leonardo da Vinci, nella Biblioteca Ambro-
siana di Milano. Riprodotto e Pubblicato dalla Regia Accad-
emia dei Lincei sotto gli auspici e col sussidio del re e del
Governo. Milano, Ulrico Hoepli, Editore Librajo della Real
Casa e della R. Accademia dei Lincei.
The success which has attended the various publications of Leon-
ardo di Vinci's drawings has led the Italian Ministry of Public In-
struction to undertake the publication of the entire series of 1750
drawings contained in the 800 large sheets forming his famous Codex
Atlanticus. The history of this volume is quite dramatic. On the
dispersal of the collection of the drawings of Leonardo, the bulk of
them was acquired by Pompeo Leoni, who, towards 1587, dismem-
bered the collection in order to compose this volume, which from its
size received the name of Atlanticus. In doing so he paid no atten-
tion to the original order, but followed a purely arbitrary arrange-
ment. By the gift of Count Arconati the volume passed in 1B37 into
the Ambrosian Library, from which it was absent only in a temporary
and forced residence in France between 1796 and 1815. It has formed
the basis of many studies and yet has not been in the least exhausted
as a mine of study. As early as 1872 a fragment or " Saggio " of its
pages was published in facsimile, in order to test the question of a
complete edition in large phototype plates, such as has now been un-
dertaken. The editing of the work has been undertaken by the Royal
Academy dei Lincei. The work will be published in thirty -five parts,
each containing forty heliotype plates, at a cost to original subscribers
of £48 or $240. For foreign and tardy subscribers the price will be
somewhat more. It was decided that it would be out of the question
to attempt a systematic rearrangement of the drawings, so that they
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 61
will be published in their present order. The manuscript notes on
the drawings are difficult to decipher, are often obscure in meaning,
and at times impossible to translate. No translation of them will
therefore be attempted; but beside the phototype reproduction, they
will be given in an exact transcription ; and in order to facilitate their
study, a special dictionary will be compiled of words that are obso-
lete or of doubtful meaning and their equivalent in modern Italian
given. The transcription is to be by Dr. Giovanni Piumati ; the dic-
tionary by Luca Beltrami.
Some idea of the scope of the work may be obtained from the fol-
lowing statement in the introduction : " In the Codex Atlanticus his
marvellous genius asserts itself in the full variety of its manifesta-
tions: in military art, with numerous drawings of mortars, among
which the important suggestion of rifled ordnance; with various studies
on fortifications, and with sketches of warships, including the interest-
ing hint at propulsion by steam power; in astronomy, with observa-
tions on the movement of the earth ; in physics, with notes on gravity,
equilibrium, light, acoustics, flight and other natural phenomena; in
hydraulics, with drawings of a number of water-engines and naviga-
ble canals ; in geometry, with studies for the measurement of the area
of the earth, and with the sketches of geometric figures which were
destined to enhance the value of Luca Pacioli's treaty, De Divina Pro-
portions ; in mechanics, with drawings of tools and engines of every
description for sawing marble, wood, etc.; in industrial work, with
indications of the process of pavement making and lock manufacture*
of weaving and bronze casting ; in architecture, with numerous drafts
and plans for churches and other buildings, cupolas and monuments ',
in painting, with sketches on perspective and notes on painting in
general. And if the Codex does not seem to be as wealthy in notes
and drawings in art as in science, yet the outlines of the paintings of
1 The Adoration ' and of ' St. John,1 the sketches for the equestrian
statue of Francis Sforza, and the studies for Leda and for the cele-
brated portrait of Beatrice of Este, are not less important for the his-
tory and study of Leonardo's pictorial and sculptorial creations.
Even traces to reassert his fame as a poet are not wanting in Leon-
ardo's Codex Atlanticus."
The sole agent for the United States is Gustav E. Stechert, 810
Broadway, New York. A. M.
Alois Riegl. Stilfragm. Grundlegungen zu einer Geschichte der
Ornamentik. 8vo, pp. xix-346, with 197 illustrations. Verlag
von Georg Siemens. Berlin, 1893.
This book is a consideration of the foundation of ornament, and is
based chiefly upon ancient historic art. For eighteen years Herr
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62 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
Riegl was in charge of the textile department of the Royal Austrian
Museum for Art and Industry. He was naturally led to give special
consideration to Semper's theory of the origin of ornamental forms in
textile fabrics. The first portion of his work, which treats of the
geometric style, is written in opposition to Semper's theory. Accord-
ing to Riegl, the existence of elementary geometric forms in widely
separated countries does not necessarily apply intercommunication.
He therefore favors the theory of separate origins. Nor does he think
it necessary to assume that such forms arise in general from the art of
weaving, since they are found amongst races who were presumably
unacquainted with weaving and lived without clothing. He places
the origin of such forms in the natural love for decoration, without
special reference to material. He next considers what is known a&
the Coat-of-Arms Style — WappmstU. This he disassociates from the
art of weaving and connects psychologically with the love of symme-
try. The greater portion of the book is taken up with a consideration
of early floral ornamentation and the development of honeysuckle
ornament. This he traces to its earliest origin in Egypt and follows
it through Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Persia, Greece and Rome, and in
derivative forms in Byzantine and early Saracenic art. In this portion
of his book he comes into close quarters with Professor Goodyear,
whose important work upon the Grammar of the Lotus has great
weight with him, although he differs from Professor Goodyear in a
number of details. The vine or honeysuckle ornament he considers
a creation of Greek art, although admitting its element to be of Orien-
tal origin. It is interesting to have thus clearly portrayed in a logical
and historical treatise the life of an ornamental form which originated
in the remotest antiquity, became widely diffused in mediaeval times,
and which survives in much of the decoration of the present day.
A. M.
Solone Ambrosoli. Manuale di Numismatiea. 16mo., pp. XV,
250, with 120 illustrations in the text and 4 plates. Ulrico-
Hoepli, Milano, 1895.
A year ago the distinguished numismatist, Dr. Ambrosoli, pub-
lished his manual of numismatics in the series of the manuals issued
by Ulrico Hoepli, at Milan. The edition was soon exhausted, and
the little volume before us represents a second edition, in which cor-
rections and additions have been embodied. The book deserves a
wide circulation, since it contains in very compact form a large
amount of useful material upon the entire field of numismatics.
After giving definitions and general notions he surveys the field for
Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Mediaeval and modern numismatics, adding
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 68
a chapter upon medals. In each of these chapters he gives a special
introduction, many bibliographical references and a few half-tone
representations of coins. More valuable still for purposes of reference
are the tables appended to his chapters, which afford a means of ready
reference for the identification of coins by their inscriptions. The
book contains naturally most abundant information upon Greekr
Roman and Italian coinage, though references are given by means of
which the subject may be extended not only through Europe, but also
to Asia and North and South America. It would be difficult to find
a manual containing so much information in so small compass;
nevertheless, the publishers offer the volume at the extremely low
price of 1.50 lire. A. M.
Charles Diehl. UArt Byzantin dans Vltalie meridionaU. (Bib-
lioth&que international de Tart.) 8vo. pp. 267. Paris, 1894,
Librairie de TArt.
The present volume is the result of two journeys undertaken during
1883 and 1884 in Southern Italy in the provinces of Terra d'Otranto,
Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily, with the object of studying the in-
fluence of Byzantium upon the Italian art of the South. Several of
its chapters have appeared in part in reviews: in the Melanges de
VEcole francaise de Rome, in the Bidletin de Correspondance Hellhiique
and in VArt. M. Diehl has made a specialty of Byzantine studies,
and other works of his have become standard authorities. Such are
his studies on Byzantine administration in the exarchate of Ravenna,
on Byzantine administration in Africa, on the church and mosaics of
St. Luke in Phokis. He has mastered to an unusual degree two dis-
tinct branches of Byzantine studies — the historic and the incono-
graphic — and these stand him in good stead in his present work.
Some of the frescoes which are described in this book, and form the
principal material for the author's judgment, have been described in
previous works, such as Salazaro, Schultz and Lenormant, but by far
the greater part are either his own discovery or have been noted
merely by local antiquarians, whose criticisms have remained un-
noticed or are of but little value. Aside from the great frescoes of
St. Angelo in Formis and the mosaics of Sicily, the paintings described
exist either in small churches and chapels or in subterranean crypts-
and hermit grottoes of modest pretentions. These works are studied
in geographical groups: the first is that of Terra d'Otranto with its
grottoes and subterranean chapels ; the second group is that of the
region about Tarentum; the third is that of Matera, and the fourth
comprises Calabria. In chapter iv is a very interesting treatise on the
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64 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
origin and artistic character of the Italo-Byzantine frescoes of the
entire South ; in it he gives a summary of the results of his study of
all these groups of frescoes. He shows that although modest in their
pretentions, they are of great importance for the history of Byzantine
painting, because they are about the only untouched examples of this
branch of Byzantine art that have remained from the Middle Ages.
The series extends from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries in an un-
broken succession, and reflects all the changes which Byzantine art in
general underwent during this period. M. Diehl gives a remarkable
lucid example of this in his essay upon the changes in the type of
Christ. One of the most interesting points that he treats is the rela-
tion of the native art to the Byzantine school. He shows how at first
the Byzantine school was almost in sole possession of the field, how
gradually there grew up by its side a native school largely in imita-
tion and how this native school developing during the thirteenth
century replaced the Byzantine during the course of the fourteenth, but
in many cases retained characteristics of its former master, largely on
account of the persistence in Southern Italy of a population that was
still Greek in its church rites, its language and all its affiliations and
sentiments.
The chapter on the Byzantine mosaics of Sicily is a prose poem and
the most fascinating part of the book. As a prelude we have a study
of the cosmopolitan civilization of Sicily under the Normans. " For
about a century — the only one of mark in its history — Palermo showed
to the world a unique and wonderful sight: under the influence of a
foreign dynasty, that of the Norman princes, who were in reality the
national house of Sicily, it produced a refined civilization, an original
and charming art, which was in its time, the first in the world, an art
fascinating above all, which combined and fused three apparently
irreconcilable elements, the Byzantine world, the Arab world, and the
Latin world, which by the chances of conquest had been placed side
by side in the land of Sicily, and out of them made the most extraor-
dinary and attractive mMange that ever was." M. Diehl passes in
review the acts and policy of each of the Norman kings, Roger I,
Roger II, William I and William II: he shows what wonderful skill
was shown by these rulers in holding the balance between the discor-
dant elements that made up their population— Latin Catholics, Greek
church, Mussulman : a spark would kindle a conflagration.
A. L. F, Jr.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS.
Summary of recent Discoveries and Investigations.
AFRICA (CENTRAL), . . 74
ALGERIA 77
ARABIA, 80
ASIA MINOR, 89
ASIATIC RUSSIA .... 95
BABYLONIA, 81
PAGE.
EGYPT, 65
GREECE, 104
ITALY, 134
KRETE 98
KYPROS, 97
PALESTINE, 86
PERSIA, 84
SYRIA, 85
TRIPOLI, 74
TUNISIA, 74
TURKEY, 96
AFRICA.
EGYPT.
EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND. — The eighth ordinary general meeting
of the Egypt Exploration Fund was held in London on October 26, the
President, Sir John Fowler, being in the chair. The financial report
for 1893-4 was read by the honorary Treasurer, Mr. H. A. Grueber.
First dealing with the accounts of the Exploration Fund as apart from
those of the Archaeological Survey (for which latter separate subscrip-
tion has always been asked), Mr. Grueber pointed out that the expen-
diture for the year 1893-4 had been about £2,415, and that this sum
included the large outlay involved by the excavation of the temple of
Deir el Bahari (the expenses under this item being the heaviest ever
incurred by the fund), the cost of publications and the ordinary and
extraordinary office expenses. Since the total receipts for the same
period had only amounted to some £1,773, owing to the falling off of
subscriptions from England, America and abroad — but more especially
from America — the expenditure for the year had exceeded the receipts
by over £600. The receipts of the Archaeological Survey during this
year had been about £681, and its expenses the same, one satisfactory
item of expenditure having been the payment of an installment of
£104 towards the debt of £700 incurred by the survey to the Explora-
tion Fund proper during the year 1892-3. Mr. Grueber earnestly
appealed for increased public support; for, since the committee had
found it impolitic to delay the clearing of the temple of Deir el
Bahari, the expenses of the forthcoming season must of necessity be as
#reat, if not greater, than those of 1893-4.
65
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66 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
The statement of the honorary Secretary, Prof. R. S. Poole, an-
nounced the publication of an introductory volume on Deir el Bahari,
being the Exploration memoir for 1892-3 ; " El Bersheh L," being the
third memoir of the Archseological Survey of the Egypt Exploration
Fund, and issued to the subscribers for 1892-3 ; and of the Archaeo-
logical Report for 1893-4. Advanced copies of the three publications
were placed on the table. The Archaeological Report not only contains
brief accounts of the society's own excavations, and of all others made
in Egypt during the season of 1893-4, but also an editorial report by
Mr. Griffith on the general progress of Egyptological research, to-
gether with papers by Mr. Cecil Smith on " Graeco-Egyptian Antiqui-
ties," by Mr. F. G. Kenyon on "Grseco-Egyptian Literary Dis-
coveries," and by Mr. W. E. Crum on "Coptic Studies." Each article
has its bibliographical appendix, and the Report contains maps, illus-
trations and a plan of the temple of Deir el Bahari. Representative
series of negatives of photographs taken in connection with the work
of the society are now being made at the London office, so that any one
wishing to purchase such photographs on lantern slides may there
make his own selection.
Mr. Ed. Naville, the director of the excavations at the temple of
Deir el Bahari, gave a brief summary of his work there. Mr. D. G.
Hogarth addressed the meeting about the temple of Deir el Bahari,
answering the various criticisms made against the excavations and
their great expense. He was afraid that in the future they would not
get very many small objects at Deir el Bahari, except in the northern
part of the central platform. Here there was still an enormous mound,
which had been fifty feet and was now twenty feet high, and at the
western end of this there was still an apparently almost untouched
part of the temple. While that mound was being removed two pairs
of eyes must be incessantly upon the watch. When that was finished
they would come upon a piece of ground which had been worked
over and over again, and was, in fact, absolutely honeycombed with
holes, there being no two feet of earth which had not been dug.
Sir John Fowler then asked the consent of the meeting to the fol-
lowing presentations : To the British Museum, fragment of limestone
from the excavations at Tell Baklieh (1892), inscribed in sunken
hieroglyphs with the name of the ancient Egyptian city of that site —
Bah, in the nome of Thoth — and dated XXXth Dynasty; a fine
bronze from Bubastis, inscribed around base and representing the cat-
headed goddess Bast and four kittens. To the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, U. S. A., fragment of limestone slab inscribed with hieroglyphs
in relief, and coming from the excavations at Tell Mokdam (1892), a
site which M. Naville has identified with the Leontopolis of Strabo ; a
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[Egypt.] ARCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 67
fine unused mummy-case from the embalmers' quarters in the temple
of Deir el Bahari, inscribed for Na-Menkhet-Amon, a prophet of
Amon, connected with the royal family of the XXIInd Dynasty, one
of his ancestors having been son to an Osorkon and brother to a
Takelothis.
In the evening M. Naville gave a full and interesting lecture on his
work at Deir el Bahari, illustrated with admirable limelight photo-
graphic views of the excavations in progress, and of the beautiful halls
and sculptures which he has restored to the knowledge of the world. —
Academy, Nov. 3, 1894.
MR. PETRIE'S EGYPTIAN RESEARCH ACCOUNT.— It was announced, in
the Academy of Sept. 29, that it was proposed to establish an Egyptian
Research Account, with the object of enabling some of Prof. Wm.
Flinders Petrie's students, whom he has thoroughly trained in his
methods, to undertake separate branches of exploration under his
direction. Subscriptions should be sent to the treasurer, Mr. F. G.
Hilton Price, 1 Fleet street, E. C— Academy, Sept. 29.
In a subsequent issue of the Academy Professor Petrie issued his
appeal under the title "The Rescue of Egyptian History." He says:
"The destruction of the monuments and historical records of Egypt,
which is going on year by year, threatens soon to leave no history to
be further recorded. Every season sees buildings ruthlessly destroyed
for the sake of materials, and a host of objects plundered by natives
from towns and cemeteries in order that they may be scattered with-
out name or record among the tourist flock. Even those objects
which pass into museums have lost most of their importance and of
their value in losing all record of their original place and circum-
stances. The laws of Egypt may be excellent in theory, but in prac-
tice it is perfectly well known that hundreds of persons join in this
destruction — yet no man is punished for it To avoid
this prevalent system of mere plundering, trained hands and heads
are needed to observe and to record. Such is the scarcity of suitable
workers at present that even the Egyptian Government is obliged to
leave most of its excavations in the hands of natives, from whom no
record is ever obtained or expected. Before we begin the salvage of
the wreck, which is breaking up fast before our eyes, we need men who
can put information in a permanent form as they discover it. In
short, scientific training is indispensable.
" But at present there is no means of acquiring such training. The
Egyptian Government is concerned to keep its antiquities safe, and to
find objects for its museum. The French school — liberally maintained
by the French Government — is concerned with the desirable work of
copying, reading and publishing inscriptions. The Egypt Explora-
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68 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
tion Fund is concerned with excavating temples and finding big
monuments. There are no regular and independent workers of any
nationality, except one or two English. No public body does any-
thing for the great subject of the civil life, archaeology and anthro-
pology, of the country ; and there is no place where any student can
get training in the very elements of archaeological research. There is
no lack of men willing to do such work : several have applied to me
since Egyptology has been at last publicly established in this college.
My earnest wish is to be able to encourage such workers, and to see a
sound British school of scientific archaeology established in Egypt.
The first and most essential step is to be able to help men who come
forward, and to cover their expenses and costs of work. The histori-
cal results and the objects procured by excavation in any reasonably
good site are an ample justification of the cost incurred.
" The aim of the Egyptian Research Account, which is now estab-
lished, is not to undertake great clearances or exploits in the country,
but to fit men for work of the highest class archaxdogically, and at
the same time to benefit our knowledge and our museums as far as
may be, by means of their excavations. Mr. Hilton Price, the director
of the Society of Antiquaries, attends to the financial side of the receipt
and custody of all subscriptions. A cordial response has been made in
many quarters, and over £200 has been received. Audited accounts
will be annually rendered, and a publication of the work done will be
given to each subscriber. As to the actual work, I hope to superin-
tend two or three able and suitable men, whose expenses may be thus
partly provided for, and who will work in the neighborhood of my
own private excavations year by year. A very good ground for
such work has been applied for this year, and without any cost what-
ever to the Research Account. I shall be on the spot, carrying on my
own work, and be able to help and guide the new enterprise. What-
ever antiquities may be found in this work for the Research Account
will be divided amongst, public museums, with due regard to the
localities of subscribers ; but no money will be used in carrying great
blocks, which might as well remain in Egypt." — Academy, Oct. 20.
QUESTION OF PHIL/E AND THE ASSUAN DAM.— Mr. W. E. Garstin,
Under Secretary to the Egyptian Ministry of Public Works, has issued
the note upon the proposed modifications in the Assuan dam project,
which was approved in principle by the government last June. That
project consisted in the construction of a dam having its crest at the
reduced level of 114 metres, which would provide storage for water
sufficient for the irrigation of Middle and Lower Egypt during the
months when the Nile is low. Many European archaeological societies
protested strongly against this scheme, involving as it did the submer-
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[Egypt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 69
sion of the celebrated Philae temples, together with a considerable
number of important Nubian monuments, for a period of six months
each year. The Ministry has endeavored to reconcile the material
interests of the country with those of science by submitting a modified
scheme, which has received the approval of the government, and the
financial problem will be dealt with in the coming budget. This
present plan provides for a dam at Assuan having its crest at the
reduced level of 106 metres, or 8 metres (26 feet) lower than that origi-
nally proposed. This will retain water sufficient for either Middle or
Lower Egypt, but not for both. The adoption of this plan involves a
much slower reclamation of the country, but entails the submersion of
only a part of the Philae Island, containing the smaller monuments,
which could be protected by special works to be planned in accord-
ance with the wishes of the learned societies. It leaves the other
Nubian monuments untouched. In order to minimize still further
any possible loss to science from the construction of such a vast reser-
voir, topographical surveys will be made this winter to fix the true
bearings of the Nubian monuments, so that the learned societies may
take measures to protect them if they see fit to do so. — N. Y. Evening
Post, Dec. 8.
The latest stage of the question is about as follows, as stated in the
London Daily News: "As the result of their deliberations at Philae
in regard to the measures to be taken for the protection of the temples
from injury by the construction of the new Nile reservoir, Mr. W. E.
Garstin and the archaeologists with whom he has been in consultation
are unanimously of opinion that nothing can be finally settled on the
point until the mass of d6bris and the mud-brick erections which
cover a large portion of the island are removed and the underlying
masonry is laid bare. This masonry will have to be subjected to a
scientific examination in order that a solution of the many vexed
questions concerning the age of the Philae temples, etc., may be arrived
at. Mr. Garstin therefore asks the government to grant sufficient
money to carry out the above work, which he says is of the highest
importance." — N. Y. Evening Post, March 23, 1895.
In the meanwhile the committee of the Society for the Preservation
of the Monuments of Ancient Egypt have published (Kenny) a use-
ful pamphlet, dealing in a popular manner with the proposed reser-
voirs in the valley of the Nile. After a general statement of the
question a list is given of the chief objects of archaeological, historical,
and artistic interest that would be submerged by a dam at Assuan,
showing that the Temple of Philae is by no means the only one, or
even the most important ; and at the end is a sketch map, on a large
scale, marking the principal sites mentioned. It is shown that a large
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70 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
number of the most important monuments of Nubia would be sub-
merged if the original project were carried out.
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS AND PAPYRI IN EGYPT —Pro feasor Say ce pub-
lishes under this title an article in the Revue dts Etudes Grecques for
July-September, 1894. He first speaks of the inscriptions which he
discovered when in company with Professor Mahaffy in a journey be-
yond the first cataract. Amongst the inscriptions is a poem in 34
lines, painted in red, above the second door in the south wall of the
fore-court of the temple of Kelabsheh. This Ethiopian poem has
been restored and interpreted by Henri Weil, whose transcription is
here given. The verses are correct, but the style is poor. The plan of
the poem is as follows : (1) Introduction. (2) Recital of a dream
which the poet had in the subterranean part of the sanctuary of the
god Mandoulis, who is identified with Horus. In this crypt there
existed apparently an oracle by incubation. (3) Apparition of Man-
doulis, praise of him and the command given by him to the poet*
There follows a translation by Weil. The second (2) inscription is
also painted in red capitals on the wall of the court of the same
temple, and has been published also by Mahaffy in the Bull. corr. HeU.f
XVIII., p. 151. (3) The third inscription, on the south wall, was
already known from the Corpus, Vol. III., 5039. The most of the other
inscriptions are unimportant or fragmentary. Two of them found in
the quarries behind the temples are evidently Christian, but contain
strangely Pagan sentiments. One mentions Vestinus, who was Prefect
of Egypt under Nero, and gives for the first time his precise date and
his fiall name. Another one dates from the year 211 under the
Emperors Caracalla and Geta. The first of the papyri published un-
doubtedly comes from the Payum, but was bought at Cairo by Mr.
Fraser, and afterward being copied of Professor Sayce, was stolen and
has disappeared. Some fragments here published belong to the
ancient Cusie and relate to a corporation of grave-diggers called vc*poTa«£<K
a word which has been met with only in the Egyptian poet Manetho.
The date of these fragments is about 305 b. c, while another dates
from the reign of Philip (244-249 a. d.)
PTOLEMAIC INSCRIPTIONS. — In the MittheUungen d.k.deut. arch. Inst.,
1894, p. 212-287, Max L. Starck publishes and discusses seven Inscrip-
tions of the time of the Ptolemies. No. 1 records the dedication of a strip
of land to the great great-god Suchos in honor of King Ptolemaios,
also called Alexander, the god Philometor. This is Ptolemaios
Alexander I. No. 2 records the dedication of a temple, sacred pre-
cinct, and officers to the great goddess Isis in honor of Ptolemaios, son
of Ptolemaios, the god Epiphanes and Eucharistos. This is the eldest
son of Epiphanes. The word Mapowcvs in this inscription is derived
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[Egypt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 71
from Maronis, a deme of Alexandria. No. 3 is in honor of Apollo-
nios, son of Thou, on account of his goodwill toward King Ptolemaios
and Queen Kleopatra, gods Epiphaneis and Eucharistoi and their
children. No. 4 is in honor of King Ptolemaios and his queen-sister
Kleopatra and queen-wife Kleopatra, gods Energetai and their chil-
dren. The date is 144-132 or 124-117 b. c. No. 5 is in honor of
King Ptolemaios and the queen-wife Kleopatra, gods Energetai and
their children. Like No. 4, the dedicator is a foreign officer of the
guard. No. 5 is dated Oct. 3, b. c. 129. No. 6 is dedicated to the god-
dess Areinoe Philadelphos. No. 7 appears to be a forgery. It pre-
tends to be a dedication to Epiphanes by one Kallistratos and his
soldiers.
CAIRO. — Additions to the Museum. — The following report has been re-
ceived by the Egyptian Exploration Fund from its local honorary
Secretary for Cairo, Captain H. G. Lyons, R,p. : " Among the recent
acquisitions of the Giza Museum, perhaps the most noticeable are two
squads of soldiers from the Vlth Dynasty tomb at Assiut, which have
been found since last winter. Each squad consists of fprty figures,
fixed to a wooden board in rows of four, and shown in the act of
marching. The first one is composed of men of a brown complexion,
presumably Egyptians, with thick heads of hair fastened back with the
usual band, which is tied behind. The figures are of wood and are
about thirteen inches high, the whole squad being well sized and con-
taining few men below the general standard. They are clad in a loin-
cloth, white or yellowish in color, reaching rather more than halfway
to the knee, while their equipment consists of spear and shield. The
spears are about the height of the men themselves, and are carried
vertically with the butts at the level of the knee. The heads are
bronze, and make up about one-sixth of the total length of the spear,
becoming very broad where they meet the haft, like the large spears of
the Baggara Arabs of to-day. The shields, which are about eight
inches from top to bottom, have a square base and come to a point at
the top. Inside there is a wooden batten across them, at the part
where the shield begins to narrow, which serves to carry it by. All
the shields are painted with rude splotches of color, or irregular mot-
tling, while some show a zigzag pattern of lines, or even diamond
bands, almost calling to mind the bars of heraldic shields ; but so far
as the position of the soldiers bearing these in the squad goes, noth-
ing tends to show that they had any distinguishing value.
" The second squad are black-skinned, and have the hair similarly
dressed and tied back, while their clothing consists of a very scanty
loin-cloth of a red or yellow color, and some few also wear necklaces
and anklets. They are armed with bows and arrows only, each man
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72 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGV. [Egypt.]
carrying four arrows in his right hand and a bow in his left. These
arrows are tipped with flint, which is shaped to a chisel-like edge and
not to a sharp point.
" The race distinction between the two squads is very marked, by a
difference not only in complexion, but in size ; for the black soldiers
are at least half a head shorter, and have, besides, a much larger pro-
portion of small men in their ranks. These smaller men are, just as
in the Egyptian squad, arranged in the left centre section, i. e.y in rows
6, 7 and 8. The Egyptian squad is closely ' locked up,? which con-
trasts strongly with the much looser formation in which the black
troops are marching; and though this may be partly due to the fact
that the blacks are armed with the bow instead of the shield and
spear, still the impression which one gets is that they represent the
irregular forces rather than the regular drilled bodies to which the
other squad seems to belong.
" Prom Dashur are two large boats, now on view in Room No. 16.
They are about the same size and of a similar type, but one is con-
siderably better preserved than the other. Of the former, almost the
whole hull and a considerable part of the deck remains, as well as four
or five of the cross thwarts on which the deck is laid. The extreme
length is about thirty feet, beam seven feet, and in depth about three
feet. The planks of the hull are fixed together with dove-tailed
dowels and wooden trenails.
" An extremely fine model of a boat comes from a Xllth Dynasty
tomb at Assiut. It is five feet long and about fifteen inches broad.
It is fully decked over, and the after part of the deck is occupied by a
two-roomed cabin, which takes up rather more than half the whole
deck space. Each room has a wooden door, on which is drawn a por-
trait of the owner of the tomb, with his titles ; in the forward cabin
five figures are seated, while on the forward part of the deck are twa
more figures seated and two standing, one of whom is in the bow with
a punting or sounding pole. The cabins are roofed over with bent
wooden rafters neatly fitted together. The mast is stepped in a hole
in the deck, and supported by a wooden box, which was strengthened
by three wooden struts to keep it firm." — Academy, Oct. 27th, 1894.
DAHSHUR. — Discovery of Jewelry and Tombs. — M. de Morgan has made
a further discovery of jewelry of the Xllth dynasty, similar in beauty
and quantity to his famous discovery of last spring. The Chronique
(1885, No. 11,) gives an account of the discovery of a part of this
jewelry in two tombs which were found near those previously dis"
covered and belonging also to the Xllth dynasty.
The first tomb contained the sarcophagus of Princess Ita-Ourt.
The mummy still wore a pearl necklace with gold pendants, bracelets
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[Egypt.] ARCH&0L0G1CAL NEWS. 73
with beads of gold, of cornelian, emeralds, lapis-lazuli, etc. It was
covered with very beautiful stuffs, and around it lay sceptres, a bow,
a mace, all in perfect preservation. Around the sarcophagus was an
extremely interesting collection of funerary objects, such as perfume-
burners, vases filled with cosmetics, still sealed, etc.
In the second tomb was enclosed a granite sarcophagus in which,
according to the inscriptions, lay the body of Princess Sit-Hat, deco-
rated with necklaces and bracelets of gold and with pearl parures.
Among the usual funerary objects there was found a unique piece,
namely, a swan carved in wood, which for a wonder had been
preserved.
Tomb of Usertesen and Northern Pyramid. — M. de Morgan has succeeded
in entering the tomb of Usertesen in, and is now investigating the
northern pyramid of Dahshur, which has never been attempted.
Excavations carried on around the monument have already brought
to light vast constructions in crude brick, which appear to be special
chapels, and also the houses of priests attached to the service of the
pyramid. — Chronique, 1805, No. 6.
KARNAK. — The Society for the Preservation of the Monuments of
Ancient Egypt has issued an appeal for a special fund to be devoted
to preserving the Temple of Karnak from further decay by pumping
the water of the Nile inundation out of the ruins. Donations may be
sent to the honorary Treasurer, Mr. F. G. Hilton Price, 17 Collingham
gardens, S. W., or to the honorary Secretary, Mr. Edward Poynter. —
Academy, Nov. 10, 1894.
LUXOR. — M. G. Daressy, of the Ghizeh Museum, Cairo, has issued a
pamphlet in which he describes fully the temple of Amenophis m at
Luxor; he also discusses the repairs and additions thereto made by
later kings of Egypt, and he gives a clear plan, showing the results of
the excavations made during the last few years by the administration
of the Ghizeh Museum. A list of the names of the Egyptian royal
benefactors of the temple, printed in hieroglyphic characters, adds to
the value of this work. — Athenmum, May 12.
MEMPHIS.— French Excavations.— The efforts of the French archaeolo-
gists during 1894 were centered on the Necropolis. While M. de
Morgan was carrying on his excavations at Dahshur, MM. Gautier
and Jaquiere explored the environs of Licht, where they have been
working since the beginning of the autumn according to a well-thought-
out plan, with the object of bringing to light all the monuments of the
ancient and new empire. Their greatest discovery has been that of
ten statues in perfect preservation, 1.80 m. high, all of them represent-
ing King Usertesen i, the second sovereign of the Xllth dynasty. They
were found in a hiding place made next to the funeral chapel of the
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74 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY,
king. There were discovered at the same time some tables for offer-
ings and a large number of fragments. — Chronique, 1895, No. 6.
CENTRAL AFRICA.
The Nyasa News reports the discovery of curious works in stone at
Fwambo and other places on the plateau between Lakes Nyasa and
Tanganyika. They consist of spheres, discs and slabs, 3 in. to 6 in.
in diameter, and perforated in the centre. The stones are of various
kinds, but always hard, and occasionally roughly polished. The
natives, among whom stone-cutting is an unknown art, describe these
finds as "works of God." — Athenaeum, Nov. 3, 1894.
TRIPOLI.
RAMADA. — M. Philippe Berger has submitted to the Academie des
Inscriptions the facsimile of an important bilingual inscription — Latin
and neo-Punic — found by M. Foureau on an ancient mausoleum at
Ramada, in South Tripoli, during his recent mission to the Touareg
tribes of the Sahara. Ramada appears to be the point furthest to the
south where Latin inscriptions have been found in this region. This
mausoleum was erected in two stories surmounted by a pyramid, and
was dedicated to the memory of Apuleius Maximus Rideus (?) by his
wife Thanubra and his children. The inscription is carved above a
large bas-relief representing the deceased and his wife, accompanied
by a series of classical scenes — Orpheus and Eurydice, Hercules and
Alceste, etc. It is noticeable that whilst the names of the ancestors of
Apuleius are altogether Punic, he bears another name, Latin and
Punic, and his children bear names purely Latin. — Athenaeum, Aug. 25.
TUNISIA.
BISERTA. — The Vossische Zeitung describes a silver sacrificial bowl
which was lately found while dredging in the harbor of Biserta, the
ancient Carthaginian Hippo-Zarytos. It is oval in form, shallow, and
provided with two handles, and weighs nine kilogrammes. The inner
surface is richly ornamented with a design in inlaid gold, representing
the conflict of Apollon and Marayas. A satyr plays the double flute
before the muse, the arbitrator of the contest, around whom are
grouped the partisans of the two competitors. It is a Hellenic work of
the first century of our era, at which period the present Biserta was a
Roman colony, and is undoubtedly the most valuable piece of work-
manship in the precious metals which has as yet been discovered in
Africa. It is now in the possession of the Bardo Museum. — Athenaeum,
Oct. 6.
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[Tunisia.] ARCH&0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 75
CARTHAGE. — Discoveries in the Punic Necropolis. — The latest discover-
ies made by Father i)elattre have been made in a Punic necropolis
near the Serapeum. A large Punic tomb which had never been
opened was found, and the contents were intact and undisturbed. A
number of other tombs surrounded this large monument. It is now
possible to form a clear idea of this necropolis, situated in the part of
the ancient city where no one would have suspected the existence of
Punic tombs. When the excavations have been finished it will be
possible to compare these tombs with those of the various other
necropoli of the city. Thus far not a single drinking- vase, with the
mouth on its belly, nor a single unguent vase, so common elsewhere,
have been found. Neither have there come to light any Punic coins,
tufa sarcophagi, amphoras for child burial or urns enclosing bones,
nor is there any trace of cremation.
P6re Delattre has excavated in the previously discovered Punic
necropolis two fresh tombs, the contents of which proved of more
than ordinary importance. In the first, of rectangular form and of a
style belonging to the sixth century b. c, was found the skeleton of an
adult whose cranium presented all the characteristics of the Phoeni-
cian type. The rich objects lying around the body showed that he
was a person of some distinction. The other tomb, discovered in the
same trench, contained a vase of fine black clay, a goblet of red clay
with black line ornamentation, the base of a vessel of similar make
and decoration, an incense-burner of brown clay, a Punic lamp, some
shells, a small bronze axe, a bronze mirror, two alabaster vases, some
scarabaei, some figurini of Anubis and of Ptah, and some ornamental
objects in silver and agate. — Athenaeum, Dec. 22, 1894.
KOURBA. — At the session of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-
Lettres, held on January 25, M. Michel Br6al communicated a Latin
inscription recently found in Tunisia, which is remarkable both for its
historical contents and for some linguistic peculiarities. This inscrip-
tion was found at Kourba, not far from the city of Tunis, by Capt.
Lachouque, of the geographical service of the French army. It is of
the year 49 b. c, and recalls one of the most dramatic epochs of
Roman history. The personages named in it have been made familiar
by Cicero, Lucan, Appian and especially by Caesar, who speaks of
them at length. It refers to the putting into a state of defence of
Curubis (now Kourba) at a time when it was in the hands of
Pompey's followers, and when they were expecting an attack from a
force landed from Caesar's fleet. The inscription gives a quite new
military term, posteicud, a word hitherto unknown. It means either
some military work of inside fortification or else a sally-port, a
postern. At the same session of the Academy M. Dieulafoy, the well-
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76 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGF. [Tunisia.]
known explorer, was elected to membership. — N. Y. Evening Post,
Feb. 25.
OUDNA. — ruins of a Roman Villa. — New discoveries have been made in
the ruins of the Roman villa, already noticed in the Journal
(IX, p. 271) which is being cleared at Oudna. Three new chambers
have been found decorated with geometrical ornamentation, alternat-
ing with birds and theatrical masks. They open to the right and lett
on apartments which have not yet been cleared. The last room is
connected by an entry with a vast hall as remarkable for its architectural
arrangement as it is for the richness of its ornamentation. The five
columns supporting the roof are divided into two parts, one surround-
ing the other. The first, attached directly to the wall on the west
side, is separated on three of its sides by a colonnade from the outer
portico. To the east are the doors of three symmetrical small cham-
bers decorated in exactly the same manner. Their walls are covered
with white stucco decorated with frescoes. One of these paintings
representing two theatrical masks has been transported to the museum
of the Bardo. The pavement is formed of white mosaic, divided into
rectangular sections, in the centre of which is the head of a pastoral
divinity. The mosaic of the atrium is extremely elaborate. The
frame consists of fifty-eight medallions in two rows each, enclosing a
different subject : an animal, a bird or a geometrical design. In the
intercolumniation is a frieze with lions and panthers pursuing a deer.
Finally, in the space enclosed in the colonnade, is the principal picture.
It represents a farming scene of the Roman period. In the back-
ground is the dwelling of the master, a farm-house with monumental
fa£ade with a porte coch&re, a second smaller door and two windows
on the first floor. Against the house leans a plow, under the porch
rests a shepherd leaning on his crook and counting his goats, who are
returning from the field. In front of the farm-house is a large hut for
the slaves and the watering trough fed from a well by a balancier, lifce
those which are so often seen in France, especially in regions where
wood is abundant. A slave is working it to give drink to the horses.
To the right a slave is leading a mule heavily laden, whom he is doubt-
less taking to market, and a laborer is prodding up two oxen who are
pulling a plow. Other pastoral or hunting scenes surround the cen-
tral composition. To the right a shepherd is milking goats, another
is picking fruit and the third is playing on a double flute. In the
centre is a mountainous bit of scenery, and we see a boar hunt, and
further on a hunter hiding under a goat skin crawls along after some
partridges and quails, and finally, to the left is a wounded lioness
fightin0 two mountain huntsmen, who are killing her with javelins.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 77
ALGERIA.
RUSUCUM-TIGGERT. — Excavations of the Basilica. — The excavations in
the Basilica of Rusucum have been finished. It is found that the
building consists of three naves divided into eleven bays, supported
by double columns. In the apse are two doors still in place, which
communicate with the sacristies. It is built with material from
ancient temples, and contains more than a hundred columns over one
metre in diameter. The ground is entirely covered with a mosaic
pavement A large part of this rich decoration has disappeared, but
certain fragments of it remain. In the midst of elegant ornamental
designs there were many inscriptions, devices, moral maxims and
symbolical compositions, such as the sacrifice of Abraham. Among
the sculptures found are two of remarkable interest : one representing
a scene of martyrdom and the other Balaam striking his ass. The
architect charged with the excavations believes that the Basilica was
built in the fifth century, restored in the sixth and destroyed by fire
probably at the time of the Arab invasion. — Chronique, 1894, No. 26.
TIPASA. — In the Melanges <V Archeologie et d'Histoire (Oct. 1894), of
the French School at Rome, S. Gsell makes an extended study of the
Roman town of Tipasa. Although situated but a short distance from
Algiers, the ruins of Tipasa have not yet been the subject of a special
monograph, although many notes concerning it and special monu-
ments have been published in various reviews. Little is known of
the history of Tipasa; its name is Phoenician, and the Carthaginians
had a settlement here. Coins from Carthage, Numidia, Greece and
Rome have been found here. Inscriptions refer to a municipal coun-
cil and to a quinquennial duumvirate. Under the Antonines and the
Severi Tipasa reached its period of greatest prosperity. At first situ-
.ated upon the hill, the town extended into the plain. This exten-
sion appears to have occurred during the second half of the second
century of our era, at which time the town may have had a popu-
lation of twenty thousand inhabitants. Tipasa appears to have been
a commercial town ; its port, it is true, was not a good one, but its
geographical position offered commercial advantages. Tipasa had
commercial relations with the east, and with the west as far as Gaul
and Spain. Though surrounded by a strong rampart, she seems to
have had no regular garrison. Her public buildings were numerous,
but not luxurious. The population seemed to have enjoyed a com-
fortable subsistence, but rich men were rare. It was not an artistic
centre; the sculptured sarcophagi found there were apparently im-
ported. Christianity seems to have been very flourishing at Tipasa.
The ruins are amongst the best preserved in Algeria ; they occupied
a central hill and a portion of two other hills ; their extent is a kilome-
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78 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Algeria.]
tre and a half from east to west, and 750 m. at the point of greatest
breadth from north to south. Large necropoli are found outside of
the rampart at the eastern and also at the western end. Within the
rampart there is also a cemetery of the end of the first or beginning
of the second century of our era. The extent of the town appears, in
earlier days, to have been smaller, since there is a mausoleum within
the rampart, a position which the Romans would not have allowed.
As regards the Phoenician site, there is no certainty, but thistown, like
the first Roman settlements, was probably situated upon the central
hill. The rampart is nowhere well preserved, but is recognizable ; in
its full extent it was 1.60 m. broad and well constructed ; it was for-
tified with round towers and quadrangular bastions ; there were three
gates, each of which was defended by four towers. The rampart does
not antedate the first century after Christ, and its destruction is not
due to time alone. It was probably made an open town in the second
half of the fifth century, for we know from Procopius that Genseric
dismantled all the towns of Africa of their walls, in order to prevent
his subjects from revolting and the Romans from finding fortified
places in case they wished to make war against him. The port was
situated between two small islands and the eastern hill, a common
Phoenician custom.
The most important ruin is that of the baths ; it is constructed par-
tially of brick and partially of stone; it has not yet been entirely
disinterred, but the number of the rooms and the general arrange-
ment is sufficiently evident. Southeast of the baths is the amphitheatre
in a bad state of preservation ; this is oriented from southwest to north-
east, and measures 100 m. in length. It was surrounded by several
public monuments ; the most important of these was a civil basilica,
or perhaps a market place. Its precise purpose cannot be determined.
The central hill was probably the site of several ancient temples, and
was known later as Templensis: only a few ancient fragments of the
temples have survived. This central hill seems also to have been the
site of a church erected in honor of St. Salsa. On account of the
abundance of vegetation, even the site of this church is uncertain. To
the west of the amphitheatre was a semi-circular Nymphaeum, a por-
tion of which remains. M. Tr6maux preserves in his garden a frag-
ment of a marble statue found on this site. This Nymphaeum is of
moderate dimensions, of mediocre construction and of late date. The
aqueduct which brought water to Tipasa terminated a few metres
south of this fountain. The remains of several of the constructions are
found in the neighborhood of the Nymphaeum, amongst which may
be mentioned a Christian basilica, the capitals of whose columns, in
debased Ionic style, belong to the Byzantine period. At the eastern
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[Algeria.] ARCH&OLOQICAL NEWS. 79
extremity of the rampart are found the remains of an important build-
ing; this was a basilica 52 m. in length, by 45 in breadth, one of the
most important Christian edifices in Africa. The interior of the build-
ing was divided into seven aisles, separated by piers carrying archi-
volts. The central nave measures 13.50 m. It was entirely decorated
with a mosaic pavement which covered a superficial area of 700 square
metres. At a later period the central nave was divided by two rows
of columns, thus making nine aisles in all. To the north of the basi-
lica were connecting buildings, which have in great part fallen into the
sea. The adjoining baptistry was a square building and had a mo-
saic pavement, in one corner of which is found an inscription badly
preserved.
In the eastern portion of the town can be distinguished an ancient
road, and the remains of buildings and cisterns of no great im-
portance. The most interesting of these appears to have been a pub-
lic granary. Throughout the town there are many remains of houses.
Brick was but little used, on account of the abundance of stone. In
general the stones were only roughly blocked out, cut stone being
used for the angles, door-jambs, sills and lintels. The roofs were
made of wood and covered with tiles. The window openings pre-
sented geometrical figures and sometimes Christian symbols.
Outside the old town at the E. end is found a necropolis containing
tombs of three different kinds: (1) Troughs cut in the rock and con-
taining ashes of the dead ; (2) ditches for bodies that were buried ;
(3) caverns constructed of cut stone, or cut in the rock, and contain-
ing either buried or burned bodies. Usually the bodies were laid
upon the ground without coffins. In one tomb the body of an infant
was found, placed between two halves of an amphora, according to the
mode of burial very common in Africa, and from the Carthaginian
period down to the Christian era. As most of these tombs had been
visited and robbed, it is difficult to give a full view of their contents ;
however, there were discovered as many as thirty-nine different kinds
of vases, besides lamps and objects of bronze, such as mirrors, strigils,
bracelets, earrings and coins. This necropolis appears to belong to
the first century of our era. Several sculptured marble sarcophagi
have been found, some notice of which is given further on. The
Christian cemeteries are situated outside of the ramparts ; one at the
east, and one at the west. These two necropoli with their thousands
of tombs well preserved, form certainly one of the archaeological curi-
osities of Algeria. Each of them contains an important edifice ; that
at the east, the basilica raised upon the tomb of St. Salsa ; that at the
west, the funerary church of Bishop Alexander. In the centre of the
basilica of St. Salsa is a pagan tomb, surmounted by a cippus, upon
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80 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Algeria.]
which is an inscription to Fabia Salsa. The church of Bishop Alex-
ander is situated about 200 m. from the rampart to the west of the
town. The plan is trapezoidal, and is divided into three aisles, the
central nave being entirely paved with mosaics. These mosaics present
pompous inscriptions. Various kinds of tombs are found in these
cemeteries, but the practice is of burial only, with no funerary objects.
Some of the tombs are cut in the rock ; others are sarcophagi of stone
or of terracotta ; others, again, are buildings or mausolea of various
forms.
Outside of the ramparts may be traced with certainty four ancient
roads, one going to Csesarea, a second to Icosium (Algiers), a
third in the direction of Montebello, and a fourth to Aquae Calidee.
There are in the neighborhood of Tipasa many ruins, but they present
little interest. Of these may be mentioned an elaborate farmhouse and
a fortified residence. Tipasa is far from having furnished as many
figured monuments as her neighbor Caesarea, where at the time of
Augustus there reigned a prince who was fond of the arts, and which,
during the Roman rule, was the capital of the province. Besides re-
ligious and funerary steles, Tipasa has furnished a number of richly
sculptured sarcophagi. One of these called the " sarcophagus of the
married couple", contains four divisions on its principal face, one of
which represents the hand-shaking, the other the sacrifice. In the
outermost compartments are figured the Dioscuri. A second sarco-
phagus represents the story of Pelops and (Enomseus. A third con-
tains the representation of the Good Shepherd ; the fourth represents
the seasons, and a fifth Hebrews carrying the grapes of Canaan.
Amongst the other objects worthy of mention are a few engraved gems
and a large silver patera now in the Louvre.
ASIA.
ARABIA.
JOURNEY OF MR. BENT IN SOUTHERN ARABIA.— The article of
greatest popular interest in the Geographical Journal for October is Mr.
J. Theodore Bent's account of his recent expedition to the Hadramaut
in Southern Arabia. This is a singular valley running for a hundred
miles nearly parallel to the coast, and on the average about that dis-
tance from it, and inhabited by intensely fanatical Bedouins and
Arabs. Though known from remotest antiquity as the centre of the
trade in frankincense and myrrh, no European has succeeded in
reaching it till last year, Mr. Bent's party being the second. The
name means in the Himyaritic language "valley of death," which "in
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 81
Hebrew form corresponds exactly to that of Hazarmaveth of the tenth
•chapter of Genesis." It is a fact, interesting especially to Biblical
.students, that the most sacred places in the valley are the primitive
tombs of the legendary prophets Saleh and Hud (or Eber, a synony-
mous term), names which will be found in Genesis in close connection
with that of the valley. The appearance of the valley from the arid
plateau is very remarkable. It contains some fine and lofty palaces,
rich in carving, and ruins of great antiquity, somewhat similar to
those found in South Africa, and exhibiting a few Himyaritic inscrip-
tions. The jealousy of some of the tribes, however, prevented any
thorough exploration, which Mr. Bent reserves for a second expedi-
tion.— New York Nation, Oct. 25.
BABYLONIA.
ABU-HABBA. — Father Scheil, the French dominican archaeologist, is
in charge of a government mission for excavations at Abu-Habba for
the Constantinople Museum, to which he has dispatched numerous
Assyrian inscriptions and remains. — Athenaeum, Sept. 1.
NIFFER-NIPPUR — Discoveries of the Philadelphia Expedition. — The exca-
vations at Niffer, commenced some five years ago by an expedition
Bent out from Philadelphia under the auspices of the University of
Pennsylvania, have not yet come to a close. They will be continued
during 1895 under the direction of Mr. Haynes, who has had charge
of them for over three years. Too much praise cannot be given to his
•devotion. He has continued the excavations through the entire year,
during the wet and the heated seasons, when, thus far, all excavations
have been stopped.
Dr. Peters has given in this number of the Journal a detailed ac-
count of the results of the excavations on the principal mound, which
he calls the " Temple Hill," or mound of the Ziggurat. In another
paper, to be issued in the next number of the Journal, Dr. Peters
will describe discoveries in another mound at Niffer, and also report
on one or more mounds at a certain distance from this city, and
belonging to other ancient centres of population.
Our knowledge of the structural and decorative forms of early Baby-
lonian architecture will be notably increased as soon as the results of
the excavations can be given in their entirety. Even now we can
foresee how students will welcome two facts that will be clearly brought
out, namely, the use of the arch and of the column. Both the round
and the pointed arch is found; these arches are true arches, built both
of unburned and of burned bricks. The pointed arch is used in
vaulted drains. A photograph has been sent by Mr. Haynes of the
entrance to such a pointed, arched passage, which he attributes to the
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82 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOY. [Babylonia.}
Roman period. Dr. Peters, however, places it before the time of Sar-
gon I, under whose level it was found. The round arch is seen i»
Pig. 7 of Dr. Peters' article on p. 20 of this number, in the doorways
of the houses in the temple area.
On a mound at some distance from the Temple Hill a large struc-
ture has come to light, containing a most remarkable colonnade. This
consists of a row of circular columns built up of pear-shaped bricks.
This is an entirely novel disclosure of the resources of Babylonian
architecture. Dr. Peters dates this work, I believe, in the second
millennium, b. c. It will be remembered what a sensation was caused
by the discovery at Tello, by M. de Sarzec, of the lower sections of two
brick columns. These were not circular, but were a bundle of four
interpenetrating circular shafts. The bricks used in their construction
were of the same pear shape as those at Niffer. But at Niffer the cir-
cular form is for the first time found.
Prof. Hilprecht spent some months during the summer and autumn-
at Constantinople in connection with the Imperial Museum and to*
complete the organization of the Babylonian collections, resulting
largely from the Sultan's share of the excavations. Last year Dr.
Hilprecht spent ten weeks on these collections. He has also been en-
gaged in preparing for the press the second volume of the publication*
of the detailed account of the American expedition.
At the meeting of the Philological and Archaeological Societies in Phil-
adelphia, Dec. 27, Prof. Hilprecht showed in a detailed paper the-
importance of the Babylonian library found at Niffer. There are
some twenty thousand inscribed bricks, cylinders or tablets. Histori-
cally their importance is great, as they give new names of kings and
inscriptions of unparalleled length for the early and middle periods-
of Babylonian history.
TELLO-LAGASH. — A Royal Babylonian Villa. — At a meeting ofthe-4cad-
hrde des Inscriptions, on November 9, M. Heuzey studied in detail &
group of structures and monuments lately discovered by M. de Sar-
zec, at Tello, the ancient Lagash or Sirpurla, belonging to the residence
of the earliest kings, 4000 b. c. The earliest are recorded by founda-
tion tablets of the Patesi Entemena, of which there are five new copies
that aid in the interpretation of the text. This ruler figures here es-
pecially as a patron of agriculture. Among his favorite plantations
are two woods, which he places under the protection of two different
divinities, the Goddess Nin-harsag, the divinity of the mountains, and
mother of the Gods, the Babylonian prototype of Kybele, and the God-
dess Nina, the divinity of the waters, symbolized by a vase containing
fish. To the same goddess he dedicated a sanctuary, as to " She who-
makes the dates grow." It is certain that, by means of the hydraulic
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[Babylonia] ARCHjEOLOGICAL NEWS. 83
works, traces of which have been found on every side, the desert of
Tello was at that time transformed into a real forest of date trees. The
ancient Babylonians had a popular song celebrating the 360 benefits
of the date tree. Among the gifts of the sacred tree, one of the most
important was a fermented liquor, analogous to the date wine men-
tioned by Pliny, or the Arak of the Arabs. Certain constructions
found by M. de Sarzec (a kind of press or oval basin, cellars whose
walls contain bituminated vats in the shape of anaphoras), show that
this was one of the most popular products of this royal villa.
Discovery of the Ancient Brick Library. — During the Eighth Campaign
of excavations by M. de Sarzec, an important discovery has been made
of a library of clay tablets with cuneiform inscriptions, numbering
over thirty thousand. These are city archives, analogous to those
found on the site of Nineveh, Sippara and Nifter. The find at Tello is
the largest thus far made. The tablets were found under a mound
about two hundred metres distant from that where the palaces of the
ancient kings had previously been found. The tablets were arranged
in five or six regular rows within narrow galleries intersecting each
other at right angles. These galleries were built of crude brick, and
on each side were furnished with benches, on each of which were
placed other layers of tablets. There were two distinct groups of gal-
leries near each other. They are comparable to the favmse of the clas-
sic temples which received the surplus of offerings. Five thousand of
the tablets are in perfect preservation, five thousand more are but
slightly damaged ; the rest are in fragments, but can, in many cases,
be put together again. There are two copies of many of the official
documents bearing the seals of the witnesses and scribes. There are
accounts, lists of offerings, inventories, etc. Mingled with the tablets
are numerous documents of different shape, such as truncated cones,
barrel cylinders, sacred stones, statuettes. A certain number of tab-
lets, and of sacred stones with archaic characters, belong to the earliest
period of the civilization of Tello, that of Eannadu, the king of the
Stele of of the Vultures. The great majority, however, belong to two*
different types, the one resembling the inscriptions of Kings Ur-Bau and
Gudea, the other more cursive, resembling more closely the Babylonian
writing proper. Although these documents relate largely to religious
subjects, many are of historic and chronological value from the names
of the rulers that are mentioned, not only the rulers of Sirpula (or
Lagash). but also those of the rulers of Ur, such as Dunghi, Gamil-
Sin and Ibil-Sin, who shortly after the time of Gudea came into pos-
session of this part of the country.
Other Discoveries.— In continuing the explorations of the primi-
tive strata that dated from the fourth millenium b. c, a number of
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84 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGY.
interesting structures were found, and several very early objects, such
as two heads of bulls in copper, with incrusted eyes, a curious copper
vase, and two new fragments representing the execution of captives,
similar in style to the reliefs of the Stele of the Vultures.
In the second place the explorer undertook to clear the subterra-
nean parts of the palace of Tello, where he carried on his first excava-
tions, and especially the structure ofUr-Bau, the predecessor of Gudea.
Finally excavations were carried as far as the distant mounds to the
south. There numerous monuments were found upon the site of an
ancient sanctuary.
Of a special importance was the discovery in the midst of a stratum
of fragments of sculpture and of inscribed stone vases, of a number of
statuettes, the heads and even the profiles of which are intact. As all
the statues thus far found have been headless, this discovery is of
great interest for the study of the Babylonian type.
All the objects discovered have been handed over to the Turkish
delegate to be placed in the Museum at Constantinople.
BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES.— Dr. Rifaat Effendi, a phy-
sician in the Turkish army, some time ago gave to the Imperial
Museum at Constantinople a collection of vases he had made during
his services in Irak and Mesopotamia. He has now presented a finer
collection of Assyrian tablets, inscribed vases, signets, gems, a small
Byzantine candelabrum and other objects. — Atkenxwn, Sept. 22.
PER8IA.
A PARTHIAN STANDARD. — M. Heuzey described at a meeting of the
French Academy of Inscriptions a peculiar bronze from Persia, now
in the Museum of the Louvre. It is a bronze circle within which are
cut out five or six figures of Gorgons pursuing one another in fantastic
course. This carved disk is separated by two reclining bulls, and is
decorated on the outside like Greek mirrors with figures of animals in
relief. All around are aquatic birds, and at the top a reclining deer.
The form recalls very closely that of the military standards repre-
sented on the Assyrian bas reliefs, except that the god Assur shooting
an arrow has been replaced by the Greek motive of the Gorgons, which
carries the same idea, both protecting and terrifying. The style is
that of the Parthian period. The combination of Oriental and Greek
motives is explained by the great influence which the Hellenic
clement preserved in the Parthian empire, where it had been planted
by the Macedonian Conquest, and the movement of colonization which
followed it.— Chronique, 1895, No. 3.
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8YRIA.
PROPER NAMES IN THE AMARNA TABLETS.— J. Perruchon publishes
in the Revue Semitique for October, 1894, an alphabetical index of the
proper names contained in the letters found at Tel El-Amarna. This
list is extremely convenient for reference and important for the
geography, history and language of Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine in
the xv cent. b. c.
THE SEPULCHRAL MONUMENT CALLED NEPHESH— The Semitic word
#dj designates not only the soul, but also a funeral monument of a
special kind. It designates the stele in the form of a pyramid. The
term is used in a monument of this form from Petra (Vogu6, Syrie
Centr., p. 90), and in the bi-lingual inscription of Suweida (CIS. n,.
162), the Nabathsean #9j corresponds to the Greek oriyA.?;. In Matth.
1, 13 (27-28) Simeon Maccabeus is said to have erected over the tomb
of his father and brothers seven pyramids, called in the Greek wvpafuSas,
and in the Syriac jffaj; the seventh being reserved for himself. This
text not only makes the form of the monument certain, but shows that
as many pyramids were erected as there were persons buried. This is
confirmed by the Medeba inscription (CIS. 11, 196), which mentions a
tomb with two pyramids, one for each of the two defunct. The pyra-
mid, therefore, as it represented the individual after death, his spiritual
self, appropriately received as a name the same word that meant soul
or breath of life. In earlier Hebrew times the monument to perpetu-
ate the name of the defunct in the absence of children was called ■" yadhy
u sign," a term which was superseded a few centuries B. C. by the term
#dj. In II Sam. xvin, 18, Absalom is said to have erected a stele to
himself in order to perpetuate his name in the absence of son ; it was
called the sign of Absalom, dSbok t. In Isaiah lvi, 5 Jehovah prom-
ises to faithful eunuchs as a compensation for the children that they
cannot bear a cippus and name (nvn t) worth more than sons or daughters.
A neo-hebraic passage in point is from the Bereshith Rahha (Sect.
82, fol. 92), and says: " Rabbi Simeon, son of Gamaliel, taught that
steles were not constructed (rn&fu pia yn) over the just because their
words are their commemorative signs."
At a later period the word naphsha takes in Syriac a more general
meaning and is applied to an entire monument and in the dialect of
Tirhan, to the north of Bagdad, it received the meaning of funerary
chapel. — Rubens Duval, in Revue Semitique, July, 1894.
PALMYRA. — In the Archseologlscher Anzeiger (1894, pp. 112-115), F.
v. Duhn describes the oldest View of Palmyra, a painting by an unknown,.
G. Hofetede, dated 1693, 1 Aug. It is now in the entrance hall of the
university at Amsterdam, and is in some respects superior to the k'cu-
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86 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
rious prospect " of the ruins published in Philosophical Transaction*,
xix (169597) ; cf. Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund,
1890.
SENDSHIRLI.— In the Archeologischer Anzeiger (1894, p. 188-190), is
an abstract of a lecture by Dr. v. Luschan on the Excavations at Send-
jchirlL The lecture was delivered before the Berlin Anthropological
Society, Nov. 10th, 1894. The graves and buildings already discov-
ered were described, and the future tasks of the excavators outlined.
The buildings described belong to the vnr, and one possibly to the
ix, century b. c. Reliefs of warriors and musicians, lions that stood
by a gate, bases of columns in form of double sphinxes, one base in the
form of a single sphinx, and also a sphinx in relief, are enumerated.
The graves are small tumuli, terracotta coffins and sepulchral cham-
bers. They belong to the vn and vin centuries b. <\
PALESTINE.
RECENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE. — A late number of the Journal of
the German Palestine Society (Vol. 17, No. 3) presents an inviting
feast to the student of the Land and the Book. In an article of
thirty-five pages Benziger begins a resume of the Palestine literature of
all lands for 1892 and 1893, covering 287 numbers. It is a biblio-
graphical collection of exceptional value, dealing with all the phases
of the problem except the strictly biblical. The discussions in this
direction are best recorded in the Old and New Testament depart-
ment of the well-known Jahresfjericht of Holtzmann and others. In
this connection it is interesting to note the rapid growth of biblio-
graphical aids at the disposal of the Biblko-Oriental student. The
Oriental bibliography, the international project so favorably inaugu-
rated by the late Professor Miiller, is now in the capable hands of
Professor E. Kuhn. The French have been particularly active in this
line, having begun three projects of this nature during the last few
years, the Revue de I' Orient latin ; the Revue biblique trimestrielle, pub-
lished by the professors of the Dominican School at Jerusalem, and
the Revue Semitique dyepigraphie el d'Histoire ancienne, by Hal£vy. In
Addition the new German journal, Byzantinische Zeitschrift, edited by
Krumbacher, deserves special mention. With all these literary aids
it is impossible for the biblical Orientalist, and especially the special
student of the Holy Land, not to keep track of the discoveries and
discussions in this department. In the same number of the German
Palestine Society Journal, the well-known architect, Schick, of Jeru-
salem, continues his investigations into the History of the Architec-
ture of the City of Jerusalem, the present article covering the period
from the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans to the time of the
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Crusaders (70-1099 a. d.) Then come two newly discovered Greek
inscriptions, one from Cresarea, both discussed by Professor Gelzer,
of Jena. The latter is short but interesting, reading " firjfxopiov &a0c-
pw 'Maptas icai Aafapov," and the inscription is thought possibly to
mark the traditional resting place of the brother and sister whom the
lord loved.
JERUSALEM. — Excavations by Mr. Bliss. — The last three statements of
the Palestine Exploration Fund (July-October, 1894, January, 1895),
contain the reports by Mr. Bliss on his excavations at Jerusalem, to
which reference has already been made in the Journal. In the
October statement his report is accompanied by a plan from the
enlarged ordnance survey plan, in which the excavations are marked
in red.
In his October report, Mr. Bliss makes the following summary of
Tiis work : " The present report, written sixteen weeks after my last,
•will, I hope, be taken as a report of progress. I have to announce the
presence of a splendid line of rock, scarped for fortification for over
"three hundred feet. We have also followed outside this scarp a
long line of actual wall (in situ), of fine masonry ; we have traced a
paved street leading to a gate in this wall, which is in all probability
"the Dung gate of Scripture. In my report dated June 6th, two weeks
only after the excavations had been begun, I showed how we took up
the work on the so-called rock scarp of Zion, beginning our digging
just outside the Protestant cemetery ; I described the tower built on
the rock scarp, (one side of which scarp is visible under the cemetery
wall running southwest), and I showed how we had traced the
counter-scarp of the ditch for over one hundred feet in a northeasterly
direction, following the direction of the rock scarp as previously
known. I intimated that I felt doubts as to whether this ditch
belonged to the outer line of the wall, as it does not follow a steep
contour (such as those found lower down the hill), and leaves outside
of it, to the south, a large gently sloping tract, which would naturally
liave been included within the town." In pursuance of this doubt,
Mr. Bliss sank a shaft and drove a tunnel which resulted in finding
the desired outer scarp at a distance of forty-eight feet from the mouth
of the tunnel. It was this scarp which was followed for a distance of
iihree hundred feet by means of deep galleries. At one end the
workmen came upon an aqueduct which temporarily interrupted
tracing the scarp farther east. Mr. Bliss argues quite fully in favor of
this scarp being part of the outer fortification of ancient Jerusalem.
Beside this discovery Mr. Bliss reports that of a wall which was
traced for a length of about one hundred feet. The finding of a drain
led to the discovery of an anciant street, and finally of a .gate in the
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88 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Palestine.]
wall. At one point, they discovered the ruins of a house of Byzantine
times, which had been built over the ancient disused pavement. The
workmanship of the wall is exceedingly regular and exquisitely
careful. The stones have smooth faces, are dressed, with the comb-
pick (without draft), and the point of jointure is so fine that some-
times it is difficult to find. The gate in this wall is identified with
the Dung gate of Scripture.
Infoimation, received by the Palestine Exploration Fund, of the
work of Dr. Bliss at Jerusalem since his report printed in the October
Statement, shows that he has found the gate near the southwest angle
of the wall to which the lately uncovered paved road led. This gate
stood four feet higher than the road, and the sill is in situ. Upon go-
ing just four feet lower, Dr. Bliss found a still older gate, which is
clearly a part of the earliest wall. Thus he has opened the foundations
of the times of the kings. Four large, square towers have also been
uncovered near the same corner. At the same time Herr Schick re-
ports the discovery of the gate called as early as xn century the Lep-
er's Gate. This is the present northern wall, and seems to indicate
that that wall never lay further out than it does now. This has an
important bearing on the question of the sepulcher. — N. Y. Independ-
ent, Nov. 1, 1894 (cf., Academy, Nov. 3).
The Rev. Theo. F. Wright, U. S. Secretary of the Palestine Fund, gave
an account of the latest discoveries at the meeting of the American Con-
gress of Philological and Archaeological Societies held in Philadel-
phia at the close of December.
Latin Inscription of Trajan. — Mr. James Glaisher, chairman of the
executive committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, writes as fol-
lows : — " Letters have been received from Dr. Bliss and Herr von Schick,
stating that the iron-bound door of Neby Datid, which had remained
open against the wall for a number of years, having been recently
blown down during a severe storm, there was disclosed on one of the
stones behind it an inscription which seems not to have been before
noticed. It is in Latin, and according to Dr. Bliss's report, is a votive
tablet to Jupiter on behalf of the welfare and greatness of the Emperor-
Trajan and the Roman people, erected by the Third Legion, which
takes us back to the interval between the destruction by Titus and the
founding of Aelia Capitolina. It was partly covered with plaster, and
may have been entirely covered when the door was last opened and
shut, which may account for its being unnoticed. It is built into the^
modern wall about 15 feet above the ground. Roman inscriptions are
very rare in Jerusalem, and this discovery is, therefore, of exceptional
interest A squeeze of the inscription is expected to arrive shortly- n
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of the old wall, which he had followed for over a thousand feet." —
Academy, Dec. 22, 1894.
A Byzantine Mosaic Pavement. — In the construction of a new
house on the site of the small hill north of Damascus gate, outside of
Jerusalem, there was discovered, about three feet below the surface,
an extremely beautiful Mosaic pavement, evidently belonging to a
mortuary chapel. It is almost perfectly preserved. Near the east
end there is an Armenian inscription to the effect that the place is in
memory of the salvation of all those Armenians "whose names the
Lord knows." The mosaic is about twenty- one feet long by thirteen
feet wide, with a small apse pointing almost exactly east. Within a
beautiful border springing from this vase is a vine whose branches
form a symmetrical system of scroll work, extending over the whole
surface. Tendrils and leaves grow at intervals, and branches of
grapes hang so as to fill up the background, and the space within the
scroll work is filled with numerous birds ; peacocks, ducks, storks, an
eagle, a parrot in a cage, cocks, etc. The mosaic is similar to that
found not long ago on the Mount of Olives with an Armenian inscrip-
tion (described in the Journal), but it is also far more elaborate, being
the finest work of the kind ever found in Jerusalem and unsurpassed
elsewhere. It is evidently Byzantine in style. Mr. Bliss attributes
it to the fifth or sixth century, although it may date a from somewhat
later period. It is illustrated and described in a summary way in the
October number of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
A8IA MINOR.
DISCOVERY OF CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS ON HITTITE SITES.— M.
Chantre has reported to the French Academy of Inscriptions upon
the results of his archaeological explorations in Asia Minor during the
past year. The discovery of cuneiform texts in the Hittite citadel of
Boghaz-Kewi, and that of the ruins of a Pelasgic city in the mound
of Kara-Euyuk near Caesarea are two facts which throw an entirely
new light on the history of Asia Minor. Cuneiform texts were also
found at Kara-Euyuk, some of them of the Achemenid, the others in
an unknown language. The discovery of these texts in the province
of Pterium adds considerable to the area of Assyro-Babylonian expan-
sion. The discovery of a Pelasgic city opens up a new phase in the
question of the so-called Mycenaean civilization, the existence of which
in Asia Minor had hitherto been barely suspected. Details of M.
Chantre's discoveries have not yet been been published, but a large
publication is at present in the press.
MR. MONRO'S EXPLORATION.— Mr. Monro wrote from Brussa on Sept
1, 1894, " I have just returned from a fortnight's tour with Prof. Ander-
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90 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Asia Minor.]
son of Sheffield and Mr. Anthony of Lincoln College, Oxford, through
the country to the west of Brussa, about the great lakes and the lower
valleys of the Rhyndacus, Macestus, and Tarsius. It is surprising
that this district is not better known. The roads are easy, etc.
"ApoUoriia, it is true, has often been visited from the time of Le Bas
onwards, but inscriptions, reliefs, and small antiquities are continually
turning up, and the town is full of them. The great temple in the
lake, the walls with Hadrian's architrave built into them, and the
tbmbs in the necropolis form a group of monuments of rare interest
" From Apollonia it is a hot, uninteresting ride along the north shore
to Ulubad on the Rhyndacus, just below where it emerges from the
west end of the lake. Ulubad represents Lopadion, important in the
Byzantine wars for its bridge. Several broken-backed arches of the
ancient bridge still encumber the banks a few hundred yards above
the modern structure. The bridge was guarded by a Byzantine fort-
ress on the south bank of the river, within the walls of which the
older part of the village is enclosed. There are also relics of a Byzan-
tine church. Some important inscriptions, however, seem to show
that Ulubad is much older, indeed pre- Roman. Were it not for the
possibility that they have been brought from a distance to adorn the
Byzantine church, one would say that Lopadion is merely the later
name for Miletopolis. At Mihalitch, the site commonly assigned to
Miletopolis, we found nothing of early date.
"The country between the lakes is a vast plain, mostly underwater
in the wet season, and broken only by low ridges. Between Mihalitch
and Panderma we saw a strange relief of three horsemen in Oriental
dress galloping over two corpses. The work appears to be compara-
tively late, but recalls in general the types of the Lycian reliefs. We
also copied a Roman milestone at Omerkeui, the eighth stone from
Cyzicus. After visiting Panderma (Panormus), Cyzicus, and Erdek
(Artace), we struck inland through Edinjik, and round the western
side of the Limne Aphnitis to Manias. It is two or three miles to the
east of the Tarsius, and two hours to the northwest of Old Manias,
which lies close under the mountain of the same name. On an isolated
spur of the mountain, overlooking Old Manias, is a remarkable cluster
of ruins. The hill-top has been a strong Byzantine fortress ; on the
shoulder of the mountain behind is a large early Turkish tomb ; and
on the isthmus between the two, in the midst of a tract of loose stones,
stands a ruinous mosque. Marble blocks from earlier buildings have
been freely used in the construction of all three. In the tottering wall
of the fort in particular there is a course of small marble columns,
stuck end on into the masonry, and another course of square bases.
We read two inscriptions in this wall, one of them an important
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honorary decree by the demes, peoples, and individuals in Asia in
alliance with the Romans. There can be little doubt that the site
represents the ancient Poimanenon.
" From Manias we followed a difficult hill-road to Balukiser. The
oldest object in the town seems to be the fine cloistered mosque; and
although Hadrianuthera? must lie somewhere near, the obstructive
tactics of the local authorities prevented our hearing any information
about it. Leaving Balukiser. and shaking off the dust of our feet
against it, we turned northeastwards by the Panderma chaussfe. Soon
after we began to ascend from the flat plain to the harder ground of
the hills, we became aware of an ancient paved road keeping company
with the chauss£e, now on the right, now on the left. We followed the
same route for about an hour and a half, until the ancient road plunged
down the valley of the Hatab, where we afterwards found it near
Omerkeui, while we climbed the Demirkapu pass, and descended
again into the Macestus valley to the hospitable roof of the director of
the English Borax Mine. A couple of miles below the mines, just
below the point at which the chauss^e joins the Macestus, here freshly
emerged from a mountain gorge, there is a ruined Roman bridge.
The debri* in mid-stream was blown up about fifteen years ago by the
original French lessee of the mine, who hoped to make the river
navigable for the transport of the mineral. There must have been at
least ten arches in the bridge. Without doubt the ancient road we
have traced is the Roman road, or rather one of the Roman roads,
from Cyzicus to Pergamus. It loses itself a few miles below Omerkeui,
but I would suggest that one branch continued down the Hatab Dere,
and rounded the eastern spur of the Manias Dagh, passing near Poi-
manenon and on to the east of the lake, while another crossed the
bridge and made for Ulubad.
" Kussaha Kirmasti, finely situated on both banks of the Rhyndacus
where it breaks through a gap in a ridge, seems to be an ancient site,
possibly Hiera Germe. The hill on the right bank is crowned by a
mosque, in which are two fine Byzantine windows and other frag-
ments ; and we copied an inscription at another mosque on the left
bank. From Kirmasti to Brussa we took the road along the south
shore of the Lake of Apollonia. We found inscriptions at Akcheler
and at Tachtaly."— Athenaeum, Sept. 15.
A second letter dated, Smyrna, Oct. 1, 1894, reports on their ex-
pedition into the hills. " The district which we have attempted to
explore is almost enclosed by the Rhyndacus and the Macestus. These
rivers rise close together in the neighborhood of Simav, and again ap-
proach within a few miles of one another near Kirmasti. The coun-
try between them is a maze of rugged ridges and rocky ravines, mostly
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92 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOOY. [Asia Minor.)
clothed with forests of pine and oak. The streams run in valleys so
narrow and difficult that the roads, or rather bridle paths, can seldom
follow them, but are driven up hill and down dale to the most toilsome
and circuitous routes. It is not surprising that such a bit of country
contains few traces of antiquity, and remains very imperfectly known.
Consequently, whereas our archaeological finds lie chiefly on the out-
skirts of our field of exploration, our discoveries in the heart of the
region are mainly geographical."
Starting from Brussa, they struck the Rhyndacus a little below the
ancient Hadriani. " Proceeding eastward, we inspected Delikli Tash,
the interesting Phrygian tomb two hours short of Tavshanly, which
has been fully described by M. Perrot. At Tavshanly, and at its older
suburb Moimul, there is an extraordinary abundance of ancient sepul-
chral Btdse of one uniform type, an sedicidum with gable and arch over
a closed door, on which are sometimes represented emblems of the oc-
cupation* or profession of the deceased. The general idea of the type
may well have been traditional from the days when the Delikli Tash
tomb was hewn. The stones are now the favorite form of fountain in
Tavshanly and Moimul. It is evident that a considerable ancient city
must be placed hereabouts ; but opinions may differ as to its name,
and, in the absence of books, I decline to hazard a suggestion."
"Froin Tavshanly we took an unexplored road south-westwards to
Emed, which seems to be placed rather too far to the south on Kiepert's
map. Indeed, the geography of this district is altogether misrepre-
sented. Emed lies under the brow of a ridge overlooking a long
slope to the south, at the bottom of which flows a tributary of the
Rhyndacus, coming down from the Shaphana Dagh. We.are able to
give some support to Prof. Ramsay's conjecture that Tiberiopolis is to
be sought in the neighborhood of Emed. We found there some very
large columns and a great number of inscribed bases and stehe.
Unfortunately few of the inscriptions are legible, owing to the weather-
ing of the soft stone. There is a plentiful hot spring below the town,
which must have recommended the site for settlement. But the most
striking and interesting proofs of antiquity are a jug and a bored
stone, which we purchased from a laborer. They were found in a
simple rock-cut grave recently opened on the west side of the town.
Had I met with the jug in a European museum, I should have said
without hesitation that it came from Cyprus, or possibly Caria, or the
Troad. I am not aware of anything like it having been found in the
heart of the interior. At Egriguz, a few miles to the west of Emed,
there are a couple of inscriptions which have, perhaps, been carried
thither. The medieval castle, on a pinnacle of rock overhanging the
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Iron Gate, seems to be the oldest building. At Assarlar, however,
there are not only inscriptions, but traces of building, and two parallel
walls of massive masonry sticking out of a hillside in a situation
which suggests a temple site.
" We crossed the watershed to the Macestus valley by a long and
difficult mountain track, and visited several small sites to the north
and west of the Lake of Simav, but could hear of no important ruins
in that direction. Accordingly we returned to the Rhyndacus basin
by the easy pass traversed by the Balat road. It is in this valley that
the other branch of the Sinjan Su takes its rise, and we intended to
explore the river right down to Kestelek. Opposite to Sinekler, under
the village of Tashkeui, there are remains of a sanctuary with dedica-
tions to Zeus Pandemus and to a hero Olympiodorus. Except at
Balat, we found scarcely a trace of antiquity between this shrine and
Kestelek. Kestelek has its mediceval castle (well placed on a spur
which almost blocks the Rhyndacus valley) and a few inscribed reliefs.
Thence we turned northwards again, and made for Kebsud, keeping
the Chatalja Dagh on our right. This was another unexplored road.
It presents few difficulties, but few points of interest. Kebsud lies in
a plain, separated only by a low rise from the main valley of the
Macestus and the great plain of Balikesser. There are plenty of
" ancient stones," and some inscriptions, one of which suggests that
Hiera Germe was here, and not at Kirmasti or Kestelek.
"The Macestus valley is as easy as the Rhyndacus is difficult. One
readily understands why Cicero calls Cyzicus the door of Asia. Pan-
derma, the modern sucessor to Cyzicus, is the main outlet for the trade
of this region. At Persi, two hours to the northwest of Bigaditch, we
found a curious rock-hewn church. Standing out from a hillside, an
isolated pinnacle of rock known as Kissili Kaia overlooks the village
and the Macestus valley. Its upper part is completely hollowed out.
At the top is a square chamber with stone benches along each side,
probably a hermit's cell. Below, one enters first an ante-chapel, one
aide of which is occupied by a rock-cut tomb, and then the little
church itself, with triumphal arch, apse, throne, and piscina, all com-
plete. Opening on to these by three doors in the north wall are a
chapel and tomb chamber, separated by a rock screen, and a third
chamber at a higher level at the west end. There are benches, niches,
vaults, arches, and domes cut in the solid rock, and remains of
frescoes on the walls. Here and there is a rude piece of carving,
apparently birds and beasts. It seems to me not unlikely that this
extraordinary little church was developed out of a series of rock
tombs, probably of pre-Christian date." — J. Arthur R. Munro, in
Athenxum, Sept. 15 and Oct. 20.
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94 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Asia Minor.]
ARABIC EPIGRAPHY IN ASiA MINOR. — M. Canaille Huart continues to
publish in the Revue Semitique (Jan., Apr., July and Oct., 1894) his
contributions to the Arabic epigraphy of Asia Minor, of which we
summarized the first installment in a previous number.
Konya. — (1) Inscr. at the Tach-Medress£, showing that the convent
was built by 'Izz-ed-din Kai-Katis II in A. H. 659=1200-61 a. i>.
(2) In the wall of the Seid Mahmtid Turb&ri, an insc. stating con-
struction of mosque under Kai Kobad I, in A. H. 621, by a native of
Konya. (3) In the same turb£, on the door, a record of the recon-
struction of the tomb in A. H. 812 — 1409-10 a. d. It is interesting to
note the inscription on an enamelled brick, showing that this decora-
tive work of the monument was due to an artist of Mosul Ahmed ben
Abd Allah. " It proves that early in the xv century this kind of
decoration, of Persian origin, was executed in Asia Minor by Arab
workmen from the region of the Tigris."
(4) Inscription recording the completion of the mosque of Ala-ed-
din under Kai-Kobad I, after it had been begun by his brother and
predecessor, Ka'i-Katis I, as is shown in the three following inscrip-
tions. The reign of Kai-Kobad was the most brilliant of any of this
dynasty, and was a period of great architectural activity.
Doqoiiz-KhdnQ. — Caravanserai built by Othman, father of Abd-er-
Rahman, under Kai-Khosrau I, in A. H. 606 or 607 = 1209-1210 a. d.
BITHYNIA. — Inscriptions. — In the Mitth. d. k. d. Arch. Inst. Athen. 1894
(xix), p. 368-373, R. Foerster publishes five Inscriptions from Bithynia.
Three are metrical epitaphs. The others short dedications to Zeus
Epidemios and Zeus /SaX/uos. All are of late date.
GJ6LBASCHI-TRYSA.— In the Mitlheilungen Arch. Inst. Athen. 1894
(p. 283-289), W. Gurlitt writes of the Heroon of Gjolbaschi-Trysa. He
discusses the reliefs partly in opposition to F. Noack {Mitth., 1893, p.
305 ff.) The representations are conceived of as pairs, one typical and
one mythical scene; e. g.y a typical hunt (northern wall), and the
Kalydonian hunt (southern inner wall). The conquest of the Chi-
maira points to the descent of the deceased from Bellerophon. The
reason for the scene representing a man carrying some one in his arms
is not known, but once that scene was given it was natural to select
the rape of the Leukippida? for another subject. The central part of
the western wall represents a scene in the siege of Troy.
TROY.—In the Mitth. arch. Inst. Athen. (1894, pp. 380-394), W.
Doerpfeld gives a preliminary report of The Excavations in Troy during
1894 (pi. ix). A full report is to appear as a book. The circuit wall
of citadel of the sixth or Mycenaean stratum was laid bare. The wall
was very strongly built. Three gates and three towers are described,
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in one of which latter was a well. The ruins of buildings in the citadel
are all near the walls, as all buildings in the middle of the sixth stratum
were destroyed (c/. Troja, 1893). The interior of the citadel rose in
terraces toward the middle. Many small objects were found, but none
of great importance. The earlier citadel wall of the second stratum
was discovered. The remainder of the historic sanctuary of the Ilian
Athena was excavated and foundations of a great stoa were found at
the east of the temenos. A third Roman theatre came to light on the
southern slope of the hill. Diggings outside of the akropolis proved
that the plateau of the lower city of Roman times was, partly at leastr
inhabited in the period of the sixth stratum. No graves of this period
were found.
THE REAL SITE OF TROY-— In the 'E^tyuplt 'ApxatoAoyiiciJ, 1894, pp.
69-100, G. Nikolaides writes on Ilium according to Homer. He brings
forward from the Iliad, Odyssey, and later works arguments to show
that the real site of Troy is Bunarbaschi. A cut gives the relief in the
Capitoline museum, representing the life of Achilles. This is used as
an argument in favor of the same site. Plate 3 gives a coin of New
Ilium, the silver relief from Urg Kenai ('E<£. 'Apx- 1891, pi. 2, 2) and
the drawing in the Ambrosian Library, fol. 54, (Inghirami, gal.
Omerica). The silver relief is explained as a fragment of the death of
Hector. The women on the walls are Hekuba, Andromache, and their
relatives. The archers and slingers are the light-armed forces of the
Greeks.
ASIATIC RU88IA.
BAKHCHISARAI. — Restoration of the Ancient Palace of the Khans of
the Crimea. — All archaeologists will receive with pleasure the
news that the government has granted 36,000 rubles for the pur-
pose of restoring to somewhat of its former beauty the ancient Khan-
Sarai, or palace of the Khans of the Crimea, at Bakhchisarai. The
work of restoration is to be carried on under the direction of the
Academician Kotoff, who is to restore it to the same appearance as
when it was previously restored by Prince Potemkin for the reception
of Catherine the Great in 1787. This ancient palace is reported to
have been erected in the thirteenth century, and some portions belong
to the eleventh century. The second court, which is called the new
building, is entered by an iron gate, on which is the inscription stating
it to have been erected by Menghi Ghirey Khan, who conquered the
Crimea in 1480. In addition to the interesting suite of apartments
contained in this court, are two fountains, one of which has been
rendered historical by the famous Russian poet Pushkin, and the
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96 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
inscription on it states that it was erected in 1756 by Khan Krim
Ghirei in honor of Diliarah Bikeh, his beautiful Georgian wife, whom
he could never induce to change her religion as a Christian to join
that of the Mussulman.
Adjoining the Khan-Sarai is a large building containing the monu-
ments of nearly all the Khans since 1654, and many tombs of the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, as well as the tomb of Devlet Ghirey,
belonging to the year 955. When I visited this old palace and passed
two nights therein, two years ago, I was able, through the courtesy of
the authorities, to examine all the interesting relics contained in this
place, and although the original Tartar silk and satin hangings
to the Khan's council-hall and private apartments were somewhat
faded, yet the excellent manner in which everything has been kept,
leaves the palace in almost its original condition, as when it was
inhabited by the mighty Tartar Khans in bygone ages, notwithstand-
ing that during the Crimean war it was used as a hospital, and that
nearly 50,000 Russians were carried out of the building to find a
resting-place forever within a few minutes' walk of its historical walls.
— Odessa Correspondence, London Standard, in N. Y. Evening Post,
March 30.
TURKEY.
CONSTANTINOPLE.— Collections.— Photographs have been produced
at Constantinople of the large collection of Seljuk, Turkoman and Ot-
toman coins in the Imperial Museum there, and an album has been^
presented to the Sultan, together with a special catalogue of the anti-
quities in the Museum. In consequence of this a further grant of 150Z.
has been made to print a catalogue of the general antiquities, and one
of the numismatic collections. There has been brought to the Museum
the head of a statue, supposed to be of a Jupiter, from the excavations
going on at Hissarlik. — Athenaeum, July 28.
Exploration,— Turkey will soon be a closed country to the archaeo-
logical amateur. At Kutahiyeh, in Asia Minor, the authorities have
seized, on the premises of a foreigner, a carved marble slab he had
purchased from a native. This has been sent to the Museum at Con-
stantinople. At Voorla, on the Gulf of Smyrna, some sarcophagi have
been found and dispatched to the Museum, after being examined by
Mr. Humann, the archaeologist. The Turkish Press is taking an inter-
est in such matters. — Athenseum, May 12.
Earthquake, — According to an official account of damage done by
the earthquake, the great monuments have escaped: Santa Sofia,
Nouri Osmanieh, Sultan Selim, Shahzad6, Laleli, and Sultan Ahmed.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 97
They are declared not to have sustained any appreciable damage. The
Levant Herald announces that the cupola of the Mosque of Santa Irene
lias been cracked in several places. Many old mosques and minarets
are known to have fallen, and it cannot fail to be the case that many
monuments of antiquity have been lost ; and this not only at Con-
stantinople, but throughout a large part of Asia Minor and Rumelia.
— Atherueum, Aug. 4.
KYPROS.
FUNERARY SPHINX. — The stone sphinx discovered in 1886 by
•Ohnefalsch-Richter at Marion-Arsinoe, and now in the Museum of
the Louvre, is of especial interest, as proving without a doubt the fiin-
•erary use of the sphinx in Greek sculpture. It is known that the
sphinx, as a funerary symbol, is of Oriental, and more precisely, of
Egyptian origin. For the Assyrians, the sphinx was more particu-
larly decorative. The Greeks borrowed from Assyria the type of the
sphinx, and from Egypt its symbolic funerary significance. But be-
fore the discovery of the sphinx of Kypros the sphinx of Spata was
"the only Greek sculpture of this type whose funerary character could,
with probability, be established. Its upper part is not finished, a feet
-which indicates that it was placed at a certain height. The back is
also unfinished, so that it is clear that it could be seen only in front,
and finally it was found in a necropolis with other decorative marbles
•certainly belonging to tombs. It must, therefore, have been placed at
the entrance of a tomb, erected upon a column or base.
The sphinx of Kypros is even morq certainly sepulchral. It was
found in the necropolis of Marion in the midst of an avenue of tombs
and near the entrance to one of them. On the same spot a second
sphinx of same style and dimensions, but in poor preservation, was
found. It seems evident that these two sphinxes were placed in front of
the entrance of the tomb. Their style is that of the middle of the vi
century, and the tomb itself, judging from the objects it contained,
•certainly dates from this period. The sphinx of the Louvre is ex-
tremely interesting also as a work of art. Although the head is cer-
tainly archaic in its character, it shows that the artist had gotten rid
of some of the conventions which had trammelled the art of the vi cen-
tury. He has diminished the obliquity of the eyes and given up the
archaic smile. It is evidently a work of the great Ionian school of
Asia Minor, whose influence was so universal during the vi century.
— Bvtt. corr. hell, August-October, 1894.
GOTHIC MONUMENTS. — Announcement has been made that the
Louis Boissonet prize for architects and engineers will be given in the
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98 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Krete. J
year 1895 for the purpose of studying Gothic architecture in the Island
of Kypros. A special study must be made of the monastery at Dela-
pais, between Nicosia and Kerynia. This study involves that of the-
church, cloisters and rooms of the monastery, to be treated both from
an historical and technical point of view. The wish is expressed that
the Gothic churches in the neighboring towns Nicosia and Famagusta
should also be studied. The stipulations of the prize call for draw-
ings of the ground-plan, elevations, sections and important details. A
monograph upon this subject must be prepared by April 1, 1896. —
KumsL Chronik, Feb. 7, 1895.
KRETE.
PROFESSOR HALBHERR'S EXPLORATIONS.— After remaining on the
island of Krete for an entire year, conducting explorations on behalf
of the Archaeological Institute of America, Professor Halbherr returned
in the late autumn to Rome and is at present busy putting his results
into shape for publication in this Journal and afterwards in book
form. The latest and perhaps the most important of his investigations
— the excavation of the Byzantine structure of Gortyna — was not
mentioned in the report printed in the last issue of the Journal. Here
were found the most important inscriptions of the season's work.
KRETAN HIEROGLYPHICS.— Under the title " Primitive Pictographs
and a Pre-Phcenician Script from Krete and the Peloponnese ", Mr.
Evans writes an article of more than one hundred pages in the Journal
of Hellenic Studies, vol. xiv, part 2, 1894. Having been led by the
marks upon Mycenaean vase-handles to inquire into this subject, as
has already been told in this Journal (IX, p. 4|7), Mr. Evans made a /
journey to Krete where he obtained a large mass of material from ,
inscribed vases and engraved gems, which enabled him to gather
together a long series of pictographs and of linear signs apparently
derived from them. Of pictographs, he found some eighty-two in
number : of these six are derived from the human body ; seventeen
from arms, implements and instruments ; eight from parts of houses
and household utensils ; three from marine subjects ; seventeen from
animals and birds ; eight from vegetable forms ; six from heavenly
bodies and their derivatives ; one is a geographical or topographical
sign; four are geometrical figures and twelve uncertain symbols.
Very many of these pictographs are found to resemble Egyptian
hieroglyphics ; on the other hand almost as many resemble Hittite
forms. Considering that the choice of comparison is in the case of the
Egyptian hieroglyphics very much larger than that of the Hittite, he
infers a closer affinity to the Asianic side. This relationship is, at
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[Kretb.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 99
most, of a collateral nature, since most of the usual Hittite symbols
are conspicuous by their absence. Comparisons drawn with Kypriote
symbols suggest that several systems had grown up out of still more
primitive pictographic elements. Some evidence as to the chronology
of these Kretan gems is afforded by the points of comparison that they
offer with Mycenaean forms. From a gem found at Goulds, Mr.
Evans constructs a possible Mycenaean ceiling-decoration not unlike
the sculptured ceiling at Orchomenos. Further comparisons drawn
between early Kretan seal-stones and Egyptian scarabs of the twelfth
dynasty, lead him to assume a Kretan period of earlier date than that
usually assumed for the Mycenaean. Out of this pictographic series
of symbols a linear and quasi-alphabetic system seems to have arisen.
Such Kretan forms are identical in many cases with iEgean signs
found in Egypt and with some Kypriote characters. The analogies
found with the hieroglyphic systems of the Orient lead him to believe
that he has discovered in these symbols the manner of writing of the
Eteo-Kretans, recognized by the Greeks as the original inhabitants of
Krete. This aboriginal race he believes extended from the eastern to
the western end of the island. About 900 b. c, to judge from the
bronzes of the cave of Zeus, there was a strong Assyrianizing influence,
due no doubt to Phoenician contact : what is known elsewhere as
the archaic period of Greek art, is here conspicuous by its absence.
To the Phoenicians belongs the credit of having finally perfected this
system and reduced it to a purely alphabetic shape. Their acquaint-
ance with the various forms of Egyptian writing no doubt assisted
them in this final development. Thus it happened that it was from
an outside source that the Greeks received their alphabet at a later date.
But the evidence now accumulated from Kretan sources seems at
least to warrant the suspicion that the earlier pictographs out of which
the Phoenician system was finally evolved were largely shared by the
primitive inhabitants of Greece itself. So far indeed as the evidence
at our disposal goes, the original centre of this system of writing
should be sought nearer Krete than Southern Syria.
The Kretan seal-stones also throw a new and welcome light on
the early culture of the Hellenic world. The implements and
instruments of the early Kretans are here before us ; the elements are
present from which we can reconstruct larger decorative designs ; here
also are protrayed the ships they sailed in ; the primitive lyres to
which they sang ; their domestic animals ; the game they hunted -
the duodecimal numeration that they employed. We see before us
the prototypes of more than one of the characteristic forms of
Mycenaean times and abundant proofs of a close contact with the
Egypt of the twelfth dynasty.
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100 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHMOLOQV. [Kret*.]
In a paper read before the British Association and reported in the
London Times, Mr. Evans gave reasons, based on his recent archaeo-
logical discoveries in Eastern Krete, for believing — what had long
been suspected on historic and linguistic grounds — that the Philistines,
who, according to unanimous Hebrew tradition, came from the
Mediterranean islands, and who were often actually called Krethi in
the Bible, in fact represented this old indigenous Kretan stock. In
Egyptian monuments these people, who came from the ' islands of the
sea,' were seen bearing tributary vases of forms which recurred on a
whole series of engraved gems seen or collected by Mr. Evans in
Eastern and Central Krete. Their dress, their peaked shoes, their long
hair falling under their arms, all reappeared on Kretan designs repre-
senting the inhabitants of the island in Mycenaean times. In view of
these facte, Mr. Evans asked whether certain remarkable parallels
observable between some of the Kretan pictographs and the earliest
forms of Phoenician letters might not best explain themselves by this
early Kretan colonisation of the Syrian coasts.
DR. TARAMELLPS INVESTIGATIONS.— Dr. Taramelli, of the Archaeolog-
ical School of Rome, went to Krete last summer for the purpose of
studying the prehistoric antiquities of the island. He also wished to
prepare for publication an account of the chief antiquities possessed
by the various collections of the place. Dr. Taramelli assisted Pro-
fessor Halbherr in his investigations and will contribute some papers
to the series to be published in this Journal. [The sad accident which
put an end to Dr. Taramelli's studies in Krete is referred to in the
report on Dr. Halbherr's work in a late issue.]
DR. MARIANI'S INVESTIGATIONS.— Dr. Mariani, of the same school,
has published his report on the ancient city discovered by him near
Candia, which he thinks may be identified with Apollonia, and with
the primitive site (afterwards changed) of Tylissos. He is preparing
for publication a memoir on various Cretan antiquities, some of which
are hitherto undescribed objects in the museum of the Greek Syllogos.
Aside from his early discoveries, Dr. Mariani tells of the main
results of his investigations in the following letter :
"While on the mission with which I was lately entrusted by the
Archaeological School of Rome, I was able to carry on researches in
several districts of Krete, especially in the neighborhood of Canea
and Rettimo and in the eastern portion of the island. My object
was chiefly to study some of the more vexed topographical questions
of the country, and to explore the more important centres of its pre-
Hellenic culture. I reaped an abundant harvest of materials for form-
ing a judgment on these points.
" I began by examining the remains of the pre-Hellenic necropolis of
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{Kmcte.] ARCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 101
Kydonia, and was able to ascertain that, contrary to the opinion of
Admiral Spratt, the site of the ancient city has been occupied unin-
terruptedly, and must be identified with that of the present town of
Canea. Among the classical monuments here is a female statue of
Doric style, which has hitherto passed unnoticed. By its characteris-
tics it is connected with the cycle of works of art represented by the
pediments of Olympia. A visit to Aptera enabled me to make a plart
of the fine walls of the ancient city, while a tour in the district of Ret-
timo gave me a good idea of the plan upon which the cities of the
interior were built.
" Of the discovery of a Mycenaean city at Marathokephala, in the
vicinity of Candia, I have already treated in a paper printed in the
Transactions of the Royal Academy dei Lincei. In this neighbour-
hood I was able to determine the site of the two ancient harbours of
Knossos : namely, Mation and Heraklion, the former of which oc-
cupied the ground where Candia afterwards arose, while the latter
must be identified with Amnissos. I next addressed myself to the
identification of the sites of the Homeric Lykastos and of Arkadia ;
and I succeeded in establishing the truth of Bursian's assertion, that
the former was near the modern village of Kanli Kastelli. Some im-
posing archaic fortifications are to be seen under the Byzantine walls
of the fortress which occupied the hill. Admiral Spratt placed Lykastos
on the hill of Astritzi, some miles to the east ; but the ruins there seem
too insignificant, and also of a later period. As for Arkadia, it is
situated exactly where Spratt placed it: namely, on the heights of
Ascekephala, or, as they are by some called, Kastriotes ; and its ruins
extend, as I was the first to ascertain, as far as the summit of the
neighbouring hill of Tshifoot Kastelli, now occupied, by the remains
of a fortress of later date.
"After examining the cities of the interior, I betook myself to the
eastern districts. In travelling to Goolas I stopped at a hitherto un-
explored locality called Anavlochos, where I found unmistakable
traces of a very ancient settlement, the importance of which in
Mycenaean times could not have been much inferior to that of the
famous city to which I was directing my steps. An examination of
the ruins of Goolas, the most remarkable of the prehistoric cities of
Krete, taught me to distinguish several peculiarities in the architec-
ture employed in the island at this early period for public and private
buildings. The city occupied a crater-like hollow between two moun-
tainous crests, each of which formed an akropolis extending up the
western slope. In one akropolis are to be seen the ruins of a circular
tower, while the chief building of the other is an oblong temple of
peculiar construction, of which I intend to publish a plan made by
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102 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Krete.]
Dr. Taramelli, ray successor in Kretan exploration. The heights of
Ooolas slope down towards the sea in the direction of the modern
harbor of Haghios Nikolaos, the centre of the trade of the district of
Mirabello at the present day. Here, in ancient times, was the city of
Latos pros Kamara. My investigations brought to light some im-
portant Greek inscriptions, of which one of the chief is the dedication
of a shrine of Aphrodite, while another gives the name of a new
Kretan tribe, that of the Anaischeis. Others, which are sepulchral,
have made us acquainted with the site of the Hellenic and Roman
necropolis of Kamara.
But the most important results of my campaign were obtained in
the distant and isolated region of the Eteocretans. This forms the
extreme eastern portion of Krete : it is a very mountainous region,
separated from the rest of the island by an imposing range of lofty
peaks, which seems to block all access to the isthmus of Hierapytna.
Its chief modern centre is the harbor of Sitia, which gives its name
to the whole district. A city of the same name existed in ancient
times ; and the first mention of it which has been found occurs in a
remarkable inscription, which I had the good fortune to discover and
copy in a house in the village of Piskokephalo. It comes from the
ruins of Praesos, and contains a long treaty concluded in the Mace-
donian period between the Prsesians and the citizens of Sitae and
Stelae, concerning the fisheries and the trade in the purple murex on
the coast of this part of the island. This document enables us to give
credence to a passage of Stephanus of Byzantium, relating to the city
of Stelae, placed between Praisos and Rethymna, which some have
wished to correct by changing the two last names into Priansos and
Rhytion, cities belonging to another and distant region.
The most populous part of the Eteocretan region was that of the so-
oalled pharangia, in a very wild district near the sea. The Eteocre-
tans had settled in very early times in the midst of these inaccessible
ravines. Spreading from Praisos, their capital, they founded hamlets
and fortifications on all the most commanding points. Sitia, the har-
bor of Praisos, was protected by three fortresses, Trapezous, Franka-
chora and Leopetra. Between Praisos and the eastern coast may be
observed an almost uninterupted series of ancient remains, which had
not hitherto been examined : Sitanos, a small town with a sanctuary ;
Tsikalaria, an outpost ; and Zakro, a considerable city connected, by
means of two other fortresses situated in a narrow valley, with Kato
Zakro on the coast. This latter has been described by Admiral Spratt
In the ruins called Aspra Kharakia, near Zakro, I am inclined to rec-
ognize a large temple with out-buildings, perhaps thesauroi. These re-
mains exhibit none of the characteristics of an Eteocretan town, nor
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.any signs of defensive works, but resemble the ruins of Malia or Azy-
mo, in the district of Mirabello, which were, I think, correctly consid-
ered by Spratt as belonging to a temple of Britomartis. As the tem-
ple of Zeus Dictaios was, according to the testimony of the Toplu-
Monastiri Inscription, on the confines of Itanos and Praisos, I am in-
clined to regard the buildings at Aspra Kharakia as part of this cele-
brated temple.
Of special importance are the objects of Eteocretan art, which I col-
lected on my journeys in this district. They consist, for the most
part, of very rude terracotta figuring having, on the one hand, some
-characteristics of Mycenaean art, while on the other they are connected
with Asiatic art, and with Hittite art in particular. This feet, to-
gether with historical and philological reasons, and also the peculiar
forms of the ancient local names, has led me to the following ethnological
conclusions with regard to the primitive inhabitants of Crete. The Cy-
•donians, Eteocretans, and perhaps the Pelasgians, are three branches of
an original pre-Hellenic race from Asia Minor, belonging to a group of
pre-Aryan and pre-Semitic peoples : namely, those JEgeo- Asians, who
-were, as I believe, the depositaries of the so-called Mycenaean culture.
They are the same peoples who appear in the history and monuments
of Egypt under the various names of Pelestha, Tursha, Kheta, Kephat
&c. Hence I am of opinion that the historico-biblical questions of
the identification of Kaphtor with Krete, and of the Philistines as
being originally of this island, ought not to be hastily abandoned, in
spite of the opposition of the predominant school, which holds that
the Mycenaean culture was an Aryan and Hellenic product.
In the public collections already made in Candia, Rettimo, and
Hierapetros by means of the local Syllogoi, to which Greek societies
we owe the preservation of many monuments of ancient art, I found
materials of considerable importance, which I am now preparing for
publication. Of these the principal is a collection of fragments of
native pottery, which, while resembling the Mycenaean type, ap-
proaches much nearer the Theran period. These were found in a
votive grotto on the southern slopes of Mount Ida, above the village of
Kamares, where Dr. Taramelli afterwards made excavations and found
further examples. — Lucio Mariani, in Academy^ March 2.
PHAISTOS— In the Mittheil. Inst. Athen. (1894, p. 290-293) K.
Wernicke discusses once more the Rhea-epigrams from Phaistos, The
•oracular verses mean that the great mother prophesies only to those
who have children, and only concerning the children. This explana-
tion relieves grammatical and other difficulties.
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104 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
E3XTR.OFE3.
GREECE.
ARCHAIC FUNERARY STELE FROM SYMI.— Among the recent addi-
tions to the museum at Constantinople is an archaic funerary stele,,
which originally existed at Symi, and was photographed there in 1889
by members of the French School. Although broken in the middle
and slightly damaged in the upper part, the monument is complete.
The stele is slightly pyramidal in shape, like the Attic monuments of
the same style. It is a marble block devoid of ornament, upon which
is given the outline of a figure in profile standing upon a base upon,
which is carved a boar. There is no inscription and there are no re-
mains of painting, a fact that is not surprising in view of the poor
condition of the surface. The attitude of the figure is like that on the
Attic steles. The figure is that of a young man, standing in profile,
walking to the right ; he is beardless and wears nothing on his head -r
with his left hand he leans on his lance ; his drapery is very simple,
and apparently consists of a mantle draping his chest and falling to
his knee in folds, that are held by the right hand ; the legs and feet
are nude. The boar is often represented upon monuments of Ionian
origin, on coins of Lykia, sarcophagi of Klazomenai, Ionian vases, Xan-
thos sculptures, etc. The technical process is interesting in its sim-
plicity, which recalls the process of Boutades, who is fabled to have
filled with clay an outline projected upon a wall. Here the sculptor
drew upon the marble in a long sinuous line the profile of the figure,
hollowed out the stone around it, and thus produced a flat image
without modelling — a shadow as it were upon the marble. Not dar-
ing to carry very far his work, he indicated the details of the drapery
merely by lines. The face is still without expression, the nose promi-
nent and angular; the eye similar in its oblong shape to the crude
essays of the first vase painters. The analogy of this sculpture with
the earliest carved columns of the temple of Artemis at Ephesos, is
sufficient to prove its Ionian origin. This stele is about contemporary
with the column decorated by Croesus between 560-546 ; it marks the
point of departure of an evolution of funerary sculpture which enda
in the stele of Alxenor. During the forty or fifty years which sepa-
rate these two works, we can place all the primitive steles of Greece
proper, attaching them all to the Ionian school. Ionian influence
seems to have reigned without exception from Attica to Akarnania,
from Aktium to the borders of the Archipelago, and this is but a con-
firmation of the activity which made the Persians call Ionian artists-
to Persepolis. — Bull. Cbrr. Hell., 1894, August-October.
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PORTRAIT BUST OF KING MITHRADATES VI.— In the Jahrbuch Arch.
Inst., ix (1894), pp. 245-248 (pi. 8, cut), F. Winter publishes a marble-
head in the Louvre, which he shows is a portrait of Mithradates VI,
Eupator, or the Great, King of Pontus, the famous adversary of the-
Romans. The head wears a lion's mask as a helmet. The expression
of the face is energetic, but not noble. The identification is made
possible by coins of Mithradates. This bust has been exhibited in
the Louvre since 1870, and marked as representing a Greek king as
Herakles. No further identification has been proposed until Mr.
Winter was struck by the analogy between it and the profile of Mith-
radates the Great, as it is given on the fine coins collected by Theo-
dore Reinach. The resemblance to one of these coins struck at
Pergamon, when Mithradates was about forty-five years old, is strik-
ing ; but Mithradates is known to have had himself represented in
the character of Dionysos, and was not expected to be portrayed in
the garb of Herakles. M. Solomon Reinach, however, notes a fact
which had escaped Mr. Winter in connection with the coins of Odes-
sos, on which Mithradates is represented as Herakles. In the year
73 b. c, Marcus Lucullus, brother of the conqueror of Mithradates,
being Pnetor in Macedonia, took and pillaged a number of Greek
cities on the coast of the Black Sea, and among them was Odessos.
At the time of his triumph in Rome in 71 b. c, he exhibited a colos-
sal statue of Apollon, which he had captured at Apollonia, and it may
be conjectured that he brought from Odessos a statue of Mithradates
as Herakles, the head of which is now in the Louvre. — Chronique, No-
8, 1895.
APHRODITE P8ELIOUMENE.— W. Klein publishes a bronze statuette-
in Kassel, which he regards as a copy of the Pselioumene of Praxiteles.
The nude Aphrodite stands with her weight on her left foot. Her hair
is gathered in a braid behind and crowned with a stephane. She i&
using both hands to fasten a chain (not represented) about her neck.
—Jahrbuch Arch. Inst, ix (1894), pp. 248-50, pi. 9.
GROUP OF WRESTLERS.— W. Amelung shows that the head of the
Niobid, Diitschke 253, does not belong to the group of wrestlers in
Florence, as Graf (Jahrb., ix, p. 119 sqq.) thought. The heads of the
wrestlers and of the Niobid are all replicas of one original. The
wrestlers belong to a time after Lysippos, but before the rise of the
Pergamene school. — Archaol. Anzeiger of the Jahrbuch Arch. Imt., 1894r
p. 192.
THE HERA OF QIRGENTI MODERN. — In the Archxologischer Anzieger,
1894, pp. 193 sq., A. Fiirtwangler publishes a photograph of the-
" Hera from Girgenti," inscribed, " Testa di Giunone. Scultura raod-
erna. Roma." As the photograph with the inscription was bought
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106 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.]
by P. Arndt before 1890 (probably 1888), and the photographer
probably had no knowledge of Fiirtwangler's remarks in the Arch.
Zeitung, 1885, it seems likely that he knew something of the modern
origin of the head.
THE SIDON SARCOPHAGI AND THEIR HISTORIC CONNECTIONS. — F.
Studniczka writes, in the Jahrkuch, On the Foundations of the Historical
Interpretation of the Sidonian Sarcophagi. The eighteen sarcophagi dis-
covered in 1887 fall into two classes, anthropoid sarcophagi and Greek
sarcophagi with gables. Each of these classes falls into two subdi-
visions. The earliest sarcophagi are those imported from Egypt,
ascribed by Studniczka to the vi century b. c, then the Greek anthro-
poid sarcophagi of the first half of the v century, next Greek sarco-
phagi with gables, but retaining the anthropoid shape of the interior.
To this division the " satrap sarcophagus " belongs. The fourth sub-
division retains no trace of the anthropoid shape. The " Lycian "
sarcophagus dates from about 400 b. c, the sarcophagus of the mourn-
ers from about the middle of the iv century, the Alexander sarco-
phagus from near the end of that century. The sarcophagi were
placed in the chamber where they were found in the order of their
manufacture, and there is no reason for assuming that they were
originally intended for other than Sidonian owners. The position of
the chambers, close behind and under the tomb of Tabnit, and the
diadem of the corpse in one sarcophagus (No. 17) shows that the sar-
cophagi belonged to members of the royal family of Sidon. The
sarcophagi belong to five generations. The form of the sarcophagus
of the mourners is derived from the canopy used in prothesis. The
mourners represent the wives of the deceased. Several kings of Sidon
Are known. The Tetranraestos in Xerxes' army may be the head of
the first generation here represented (sarcophagus No. 3). The Sido-
nian ruler who joined the fleet under Konon before the battle of
Knidos in 396, may have laid in the Lycian sarcophagus ; the sarco-
phagus of the mourners may have belonged to Straton I., and the
Alexander sarcophagus is allotted to Abdalonymos, who was set upon
the throne by Alexander after the battle of Issos, b. c. 332. He owed
this elevation to Hephaistion, whose likeness appears in one of the
reliefs. Besides the battle of Issos, the reliefs show hunting exploits
of Abdalonymos and his warlike deeds after the death of Alexander.
— Jahrbuch. Arch. Inst.y ix (1894), pp. 204-244, w. plate and 13 cuts.
APOLLON AGYIEUS BY MYS.— In the Mitth. Arch. Inst. Athen. (1894,
pp. 34C-345), J. Six writes of the The Agyieus of Mys (seven figures).
A conical stone in Corfu (Brugemann, Indogermanische Forschungenf
1893, pi. 1, pp. 87-89) bears the archaic inscription Mvs fie hivaro.
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(Greece.] ARCH jEO LOGICAL NEWS. 107
The stone is explained as a rude idol of Apollon Agyieus, and is com-
pared with two similar stones in Pompeii.
SIGNATURES OF THE SCULPTOR EUTYCH IDES.— When Loewy pub-
lished his inscriptions of artists the signatures of Eutychides num-
bered six. Since that time the excavations of Homolle and Foug&res
have brought several others to light: 1. The dedication in honor of
Theodora, daughter of Krateos of Teos, published in the Bull. Oorr.
Hell., 1888, p. 260. 2. The fragments of a base of a statue found in
1885 with the inscription: . . . vos xal 2ap[airt'a>v . . . *A0rf\vaioi
AciXTttfcfot' . . . Ma | p]a6toviov *AiroX[A,o)V4, *ApTc/u&] h.rjToi.
Evr]v;(i8i/s .... €iroi[ci].
3. Two fragments of a circular base in white marble :
'AirdAAoivt 'Ap^-rc/uSi Arjroi Avrv^l8i/c iiroUi.
The period at which the artist lived can be more clearly determined
by these inscriptions than has hitherto been done. The date of two
of these works is indicated by the priesthood of Dionysios Spheltios,
119-8, and by the magistracy of Aristion in 98-7. Another is dated
by the name of an archon, probably of one dating from 105-4.
It will thus be seen that Eutychides is the immediate contemporary
of Hephaistion. As we find the artists Boethos and Theodosios,
Dionysodoros, Moschion, Adamas, Demostratos, and finally the very
fruitful Agasias, all working at the same time, some idea may be
gained of the wealth of Delos and the intensity of artistic production
in this island at the close of the n century. — Bull. Oorr. Hell., August
to October, 1894.
THE ERIPHYLE BY POLYGNOTOS.— In the MUth. Arch. Inst Athen.,
1894, pp. 335-339, J. Six discusses the Eriphyle of Polygnotos (cut).
A bronze statuette in Athens (xaA.«a 400, pub. in Dumont, Ceramiquts
de la Grece propre n, pi. 35, p. 249) compared with Pausanias x, 29,
7, shows how Eriphyle was represented with her hand under her gar-
ment. Paus. x, 30, 6, describes Orpheus as touching some twigs.
This is brought into connection with the golden bough, Verg. Aen.,
vi, 407, which is longo post tempore visum, because Orpheus first took it
to the lower world.
CHORICIUS OF GAZA AND GREEK SCULPTURES. — In the Jahrbuch
Arch. Inst. (vol. ix, pp. 167-190), R. Forster publishes with introduc-
tion and critical apparatus the Greek text of The Praxiteles of Choricius
of Gaza. In this rhetorical composition the author supposes that in
Sparta at some time all the girls were ill-favored. The oracle de-
clares that this sad state of things will cease if Aphrodite be appeased
by a statue. Praxiteles receives an order for the statue, but makes it
a likeness of Phryne. The Spartans hesitate about accepting it, and
in an assembly a speech is delivered against it. The -speech -is inter-
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108 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.]
esting as a specimen of late rhetoric, and as showing the interest in
art which existed at Gaza. Incidentally the statue of Zeus is men-
tioned as existing at the time of the writer. Several other famous
works of art are mentioned, and some interesting examples occur of
art criticism about a. d. 500.
ENGRAVED GEMS WITH ARTISTS' NAMES. — In an article in the Revue
Archiologique (Now-Dee., 1894), M. Reinach studies an important
class of ancient cut gems, those which bear the names of artists. He
calls attention to the fact that this study has been much neglected
even since the learned articles by Furtwangler in the Jahrbuch for 1888
and 1889. Reinach, through the study of documents unknown to
Furtwangler, is able to add to and to rectify the history of a number
of these famous gems and to reestablish in a number of cases their
reputation for authenticity. He shows that the cameo signed by
Athenion belonged to the Orsini collection as early as the xv cen-
tury ; that the intaglio of Apollonios belonged to the same collection,
after being in the hands of a collector named Tigrini ; to the same
collection belong the youthful Herakles cut by Gnaios, and the cornel-
ian (head of Augustus), as well as the amethyst by Dioskoridesr
carved with a head which Reinach insists against Furtwangler in re-
garding as a probable portrait of Maecenas. The difficulty in regard
to the cameo of Epitynchainos is cleared up. The authenticity of the
artists' names on the gems signed by Mykonos and Pharnakes, also
from the Orsini collection, is affirmed. The famous intaglio signed
Polykleitos, and representing Diomedes with the Palladium, the au-
thenticity of which has been disputed by Brunn, Koehler, and Babe-
Ion, is shown by texts to be good beyond a doubt, and to have been»
very famous in the xv century. M. Reinach gives details in regard
to the gem signed by Onesimos, showing that this is the only case in
which a forger has made a complete confession. The forger in this
case was a well-known antiquarian named Dubois, and the affair
made quite a stir among rival archaeologists.
MUMMY MASKS AND BUSTS. — In the Archseohgischer Anzeiger, 1894,
pp. 178-179 (2 cuts), K. Masner writes of Mummy-masks and -busts
from Upper Egypt, his remarks being based on a collection of fifty such
masks and busts brought by Mr. Theodor Graf from Egypt to Vienna.
The earliest of these masks resemble their Egyptian prototypes,,
though the faces are neither Egyptian nor Greek in type. The second
group becomes more and more Greek and takes on more characteris-
tics of portraiture. In the third group the masks become busts, the
head being raised and bent forward. At the same time the faces*
become more evidently portraits.
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[Greece.] AHCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 109
BURLESQUE VASE PAINTING.— In the Mitth. Arch. Athen. (1894, pp.
346-350), A. Koerte publishes (cut) A Boiotian Vase with Burlesque
Representation. It is in the collection of the Greek Archaeological
Society at Athens, No. 5815. It is a Krater with (yellowish) red
figures. In the middle of the front is a large mortar. At each side is
a man holding with one hand his pestle over the mortar. Both men
have turned their backs to the mortar, and each is busy scaring off a
large goose with his other hand. The men wear masks and wreaths,
padded tunics making them look fat, and one wears a phallos. The
costume is like that of the Phlyakes of Lower Italy and the terracot-
tas of early Attic comedians. The painter is strongly influenced by
Attic art. Other Boiotian vases from Kabirion show no such influ-
ence, but represent local sprites masquerading as gods and heroes.
These sprites belong to the circle of Dionysos. The vase here pub-
lished shows how such servants of Dionysos appeared on the Boiotian
stage.
THE KYPRIA AND THE TROJAN WAR.— In the Jahrbuch (1894, pp.
251-254, two cuts), W. Klein discusses The Introductory Scene of the
Kypria and the vases Wiener Vorlegeblatter, A. 9, E. 11, A. 11, 1, and A.
10, 2. The Trojan war is regarded as the mythical prototype of the
Persian war. Athena appears as the patroness of Hellas, Aphrodite
as that of Asia.
ARCHyCOLOGlCAL SOCIETY IN BERLIN.— In the Archeologischer Anzei-
ger (1894, pp. 180-188) is a report of the July meeting of the Archae-
ological Society in Berlin. E. v. Stern spoke of Excavations and Dis-
coveries in the Greek Colonies of the Black Sea, with special reference to
early Attic vases. Curtius spoke of the Central Group of the Frieze of
the Parthenon, explaining the cloth held by the priest as a carpet to be
spread for the gods. Pomtow spoke of the Latest Excavations at Del-
phi Hiibner spoke of a Roman Bell from Tarraco, with inscription.
Adler explained a water-color view of Olympia, and Erman spoke of
the danger threatening the temple at Phite.
ARQOS. — Excavations at the Arqive Heraion. — Dr. Waldstein arrived in
Athens in March and began at once the excavations of the American
School at the Argive Heraion. Sufficient funds have been secured
this year to conduct the excavations on a large scale, and it is ex-
pected that they will be brought to a final close at the end of the
season.
Dr. Waldstein wrote from Argos on March 28 the following note,
published in the N. Y. Nation of April 25 : "As I write I sit on the
walls of the second temple of Hera (of the fifth century b. a), while
the men are massed on the slope below, to the south, where last year
we found the first indications of a large building between twenty and
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110 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.)
thirty feet beneath the foundation walls of the second temple. As we
wish to lose no time this year, Mr. J. C. Hoppin (Harvard, '93), to-
gether with our architect, Mr. E. L. Tilton, of New York city, and Mr.
T. H. Heermance (Yale, J93), began excavating a week ago, and
carried on the work very successfully before my arrival here. The
building below the south slope of the second temple promises to be
one of the finest of the eleven buildings we have already discovered on
this most favorable site. Of the north wall, which is of the best Greek
masonry, four courses are standing. We have already followed it up
for more than a hundred feet, and have not yet come to the end. The
pillar bases in the center are all in situ. On one of these last year a
drum of the column was still standing, and we have since discovered
two others. Here Mr. Hoppin found some well-preserved large frag-
ments of the metopes from the second temple, together with two heads
in excellent preservation, one of which (a warrior with a helmet) fits
the neck of a fragment of a metope with the greater part of the torso.
If our good fortune continues, we shall be able to present fine speci-
mens of metopes of this temple, which is second only to the Parthe-
non in artistic importance. The grant of the Archaeological Institute
and (above all) the liberality of Mrs. J. W. Clark, of Pomfret, Conn.,
enables us to carry this season's work to a termination without the
worries of cramped means."
ATHENS. — German Excavations on the West Slope of the Akropous. —
The German Archaeological Institute commenced in the autumn a
series of diggings on the west slope of the Akropolis, between the
Areopagus and Pnyx.
The 'AtWt4s of New York, for Dec. 8, 1894, states that in these ex-
cavations part of a torso of Aphrodite and a headless statuette of an
ephebos have been found. Both are of good workmanship.
The 'ArXavTis of Jan. 26 states that in the excavations a well was
found the mouth of which was closed with a slab. On the slab was a
relief representing a quadriga. There was also found a fragmentary
pithos with inscription as yet not legible.
FRAQMENT8 0F PARTHENON METOPES. In the 'E<%AC/M« 'ApxouokoyiKrj (1894r
pp. 187-8, pi. 10, 11), K. D. Mylonas publishes fragments of Metopes
from the south side of the Parthenon. The fragments belong to metopes
11, 17, 21 and 23 (Michaelis), hitherto known only from Carrey's
drawings. Their connection with the metopes was discovered by
Prof. W. Malberg, of Dorpat, an article by whom is expected.
Reliefs from the Ilissos. — In the "E^ftcpts 'Apxaiokoyttcrj (1894, pp.
133-140), A. N. Skias publishes five Reliefs from the Bed of the Ilissos
(cut ; pis. 7, 8). They were found near the so-called Kallirrhoe. The first
represents a bearded male figure seated by an altar built of small
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[Greece.] ARCHJEOLOQWAL NEWS. Ill
stones. His left hand holds a staff. His right hand held perhaps a
cup or bowl. His legs, back and left shoulder are draped. At the
other side of the altar stand two draped females. The fragmentary
inscription is conjecturally read: 6 Scfra &v]40tjkcv Nat[y Aif). Zeu»
Naio8 may be identical with Zeus Meilichios. In the second relief, as
in the first, the left side is occupied by a seated draped bearded male*
Here his seat is a large bearded face with inscription Acheloios. Be-
hind the seated figure is a standing person holding a horn of Amal-
theia. Of this person little remains. The centre of the relief is occu-
pied by Hermes wearing a tunic. In one hand he holds his wand, in
the other an oincehoe, perhaps to pour into a cup held by the seated
figure. At the right of the relief is Herakles clad in the lion's skin,
holding his club in his left hand and some round object in his right*
The seated figure is probably Zeus. This relief is of Macedonian
times, and is better preserved than the first, which is ascribed to the
v century b. c. The third relief is ill preserved. Five figures move
toward the right ; first a draped male, then a draped female (Deme-
ter?) bearing a torch, then Athena, next Nike, and lastly a male
torch-bearer. This relief formed part of a larger composition. The
two remaining reliefs are on two sides of the same block. Both are
badly injured. One represents two hoplites in combat, the other a
reclining figure holding his right knee with his right hand. Before-
him are remains of an upright draped figure.
Inscriptions. — In the Mitth. d. k. d. Arch. Inst. Athen., 1894 (xix), pp.
401-402, L. Pollak publishes an Inscription from Athens, consisting of a
fragmentary list of names — perhaps a list of Ephebi— of about the-
end of the n century after Christ
Meeting of the German Institute. — The 'ArXavris (New York) of Feb~
23 gives a brief summary of the papers read at the last preceding
meeting of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens. Dorpfeld
spoke on the recent excavations and the Enneakrunos, Wiegand or*
inscriptions found near the Asklepieion, Wolters on the tomb of
Sophokles.
DELOS. — The latest excavations under the direction of M. Couve
were concentrated upon the largest and richest of the private houses*.
They all dated from about the same period — the i century b. c.
All of them have open courts and show that the description of the-
Greek houses given by the Vitruvius is not as fantastic as has been
supposed. The most remarkable part of these houses is their internal
decoration. Beside some charming decorative painting on stucco-,
there have been found capitals formed of two coupled lion-heads-
and two bulTs-heads ; an archaistic relief with a procession of divini-
ties ; mutilated heads, showing the influence of sculptors of the it
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112 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY [Greece.]
century; Roman heads in much better preservation ; and finally, the
finest piece is a replica of the Diadumenos of Polykleitos, in admira-
ble preservation, much finer than that of Vaison. — Revue Arch., Nov.-
Dec., 1894.
Antiquities taken to Athens. — The 'Ai-Wri's (New York) for Dec. 8,
1894, mentions a wall painting from Delos now in the Central Mu-
seum at Athens. The painting is very well preserved. With the
painting there were brought to Athens some small female heads or
masks intended for wall ornaments and some small bases for the same
purpose, the latter being used for the support of statuettes. All these
objects are of Roman times.
DELPHI. — A New Official Grant. — The French Minister of Public In-
struction, M. Poincar6, proposed to the Commission of the Budget, in
February, a new credit for the excavations of Delphi on the Budget of
1895. The commission granted the sum of 150,000 francs. — Chron-
ique, 1895, No. 6.
Inscriptions.— The relations of the sovereigns of Pergamon, Syria and
Egypt to the sanctuary of Delphi are illustrated by a number of in-
scriptions discovered by the French during their excavations, and
published in the August to the October number of the Bulletin de Cbr-
respondance Hellenique by M. Couve. These inscriptions show the
homage still rendered by the kings and their subjects to the univer-
sally recognized moral authority of the sanctuary of Delphi, and on
the other hand they show the gratitude of the Delphians for these
marks of respect and these benefits conferred. The first inscription is
a decree of the city of Delphi regarding privileges which King Sileu-
kos of Syria has asked of Delphi and for the temple of Aphrodite
Stratonikis. The decree declares that the sanctuary of the city shall
be sacred and inviolable, and at the Pythian games the Theoroi praise
King Sileukos. This inscription receives its most complete and exact
commentary in the text of the famous treaty between Smyrna and
Magnesia, already known. Historically this document is interesting
as being a further proof of the liberal policy shown by the Smyrna
kings toward the cities of Asia, in the hope of opposing the barrier to
Egyptian occupation. M. Couve recalls that Antiochos II, father of
Sileukos, was the first benefactor of Smyrna, and that his son merely
followed his example. The amicable relations between Delphi and
the Syrian kings remained the same under the reign of Antiochos
III, as is shown by the two inscriptions published, which is a decree
of Delphi in favor of the city of Antioch. It recognizes the sacred and
inviolable character of the city of Antioch and of the domain of Zeus
Chrysaoreus and of Apollon. It decrees colossal bronze statues both to
the people of Antioch and to King Antiochos ; these to be placed in
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the temple of Apollon. The obscurity of this inscription, in its historic
and chronological bearings, leads to a very long commentary. The
•city of Antioch here mentioned was one of the many cities of this
name, and appears to have been situated not far from Stratonikeia. It
has left no trace in history. The base of the statue of Antiochos men-
tioned in the decree has been found, and upon it is inscribed the
name of the sculptor of the statue.
The relations of Delphi with Egypt are illustrated by the third
inscription, which mentions King Ptolemy II, Philometor. It is a
decree in honor of a well-known Egyptian named Seleukos, son of
Bythys, who afterwards became governor of Cyprus. The fourth in-
scription, which relates to Bithynia and to its King Nikomedes (91-74
b. a), is of special interest, as it mentions detailed facts relating to the
organization of the temple. It relates that King Nikomedes and
Queen Laodike had favorably received two ambassadors sent from
Delphi and had returned certain slaves which were demanded for the
use of the sanctuary. In consequence the city of Delphi decrees to
crown the king and queen, and to erect to them bronze statues in the
sanctuary of Apollon. It is probable that the thirty slaves here men-
tioned, who filled subordinate offices in the service of the temple, had
been kidnapped and carried away to Bithynia. We learn from the
inscription that the slaves were ordered to perform the following ser-
vices : Five to guard the sacred sheep ; five for the sacred goats ; four
Apparently for large cattle, and four for the sacred mares, while two
or three were set aside for carpentry work ; one as a baker ; one as a
cook ; one as a guard of the palaestra, and four or five as domestics.
The article closes with several decrees of proxeny relating to per-
sons, natives of the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, outside of
Greece proper.
Recent Excavations. — At a recent meeting of the Acadfanie des In-
scriptions, M. Homolle communicated the latest results of the French
excavations at Delphi Some more pieces of poetry have been found
in the Treasury of the Athenians. One of these, now in eleven frag-
ments, contains musical notation — this time not for the voice, but for
an instrument. The words can be restored with tolerable certainty ;
but the notes are difficult to read because of their great resemblance
to one another. The subject of the poem is the birth of Apollon at
Delos, his coming to Delphi, and his victory over the serpent with the
help of Dionysos. It can be assigned to the n century b. c, by a
prayer for Athens and the Romans, with which it concludes. A
second Paean has also been found, which is dated to about the year
340 b. c, by the character of the writing and by the names of the
archons mentioned. The poet was a native of Scarphaia, in Lokris ;
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114 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece:. J
but his name is lost. Another interesting discovery is that of a sculp-
tured figure with an inscription on the shield which was evidently the
name of the artist. Unfortunately all that can now be deciphered is
the first four letters of his patronymic, KAAA ; but the form of the A.
shows that he was an Argive. The other recent finds include : metri-
cal inscriptions of some length, mentioning works of art dedicated in
honor of historical personages ; some accounts of the iv century ; a.
decree in favor of Kotys, King of Thrace ; several statues of Hellenis-
tic and Roman times ; four archaic statues of the same type as the
Korai of the Akropolis ; fragments of interesting bronzes with repousse'
ornament, and a Corinthian helmet in perfect preservation. — Academy,
Nov. 10, 1894 ; Revue Arch., Oct.-Dec, 1894.
Sculptures. — M. Homolle publishes three articles on the discoveries-
at Delphi in the Gazette des Beavx-Arts (December, 1894, and March and
April, 1895). They are devoted almost entirely to sculpture. In the
first article, after a few remarks on Mycenaean and archaic Oriental
antiquities, he takes up in detail the archaic sculptures: (1) An.
archaic statue of Apollon, which he dates from about 580 b. c. ; (2)
sculptures of the treasury of Sikyon, which he dates from the same
period ; (3) and (4) two works of the schools of the islands almost as-
ancient as the preceding, the first being a sphinx from Naxos and the
second a winged Victory of the school of Archermos of Chios. These
four works show the Greek school disengaged from Oriental forms'
and ideas. This progress is emphasized in the frieze of the treasury
of the Syphnians, which belongs to the close of the vi century. After
some cursory remarks on the treasury of the Athenians, and mention-
ing that there seemed to be no works found belonging to the v cen-
tury, b. c, M. Homolle describes a charming group of the rv century,,
representing three dancing girls around a pier, robed in delicate,
almost transparent drapery, arranged in fine and numerous folds.
Passing rapidly over some later works, he closes with one of the most
recent, but almost one of the most perfect, pieces of sculpture found
during the excavations — the statue of Antinous, which is perhaps the
most beautiful of all the images of the favorite of Adrian.
The second article contains remarks on the historical importance
of some of the figured monuments, and concerns itself with the effect
upon our judgment in regard to archaic Greek sculpture of our
knowledge that the treasury of the Athenians dates from 490-480.
He shows how a number of the sculptures of the Akropolis, which
have been dated between 500-510, must now be placed in the same
decade — that is, 490-480. He shows also that the painting of vasea
of the severe style, which have lately been given a rather exaggerated
antiquity, should be dated from about 480; that the sculptures of
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jEgina cannot belong to the close of the vi century, but must be dated
nearer 480 than 490 ; and that the gables of Olympia cannot possibly,
as Mr. Kalkmann thinks, belong to the beginning of the v century.
M. Homolle's third and final article treats of the " Apollon " figures
of the treasuries of Sikyon and Siphnos and in general of the Argive-
Sikyonian School of Sculpture. What follows is a synopsis.
Statues of Kleobis and Biton. — " The Argives," says Herodotos, " had
carved statues of Kleobis and Biton, whom they considered to be the
best of men, and dedicated them at Delphi." M. Homolle identifies
with these figures two statues of the so-called " Apollon " type, discov-
ered close together to the west of the treasury of the Athenians. They
are in fact twin statues to such a degree that the parts of one could be
completed from the cast of the other. The similarity is more pro-
nounced than that which would be naturally given by identity of
school, and the muscular development supports the idea that they
represent athletes; besides this one of these statues is signed by an
Argive artist. Their date is about 580 b. c, and they are the first
attempts at portraiture in Greek art. Being authentic works of the
Argive school, their importance is unique. They are comparable in
style to the most ancient metopes of the temple of Selinous, which
are generally regarded as dating between 580-560.
The Treasury of Sikyon. — This treasury has metopes the sculptures
of which also bear great similarity to the metopes of Selinous, show-
ing the same canon of proportions and the same technical processes,
though there is greater skill and greater care of execution shown in
the treasury of Sikyon. M. Homolle calls attention to the obvious
similarity, also, to the figures on the Corinthian vases. He assigns
the beginning of the treasury to the brilliant reign of Kleisthenes of
Sikyon (580-570).
Treasury of Siphnos. — Hardly half a century after come the sculptors
of the treasury of Siphnos, already fully described in the Journal.
They were erected, as Herodotos states, before the Persian war, dur-
ing the short period of a "boom," which struck Siphnos at the time
of the working of its gold mines. The exact period is given by M.
Homolle as from 525 to 510 b. c. The differences in the quality and
style of different parts of the sculpture indicate a difference of age, but
not one of any extent. Although there are great differences on the
surface, the methods are found to be very much the same, and if cer-
tain figures seem rather modern for the vi century, they are the ex-
ceptions. In deciding upon the school to which these sculptures
should be attributed, it was natural to turn to the Greek islands ; the
sculptures were carved in island marble. Prof. Furtwangler attributes
the sculptures to the school of Paros, but M. Homolle turns to the
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116 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
Peloponnesos and attaches them to the same school as the two preced-
ing works, the two statues of " Appllon " and the metopes of Sikyon. In
all these cases the elements of comparison are to be found in works
that are known to belong to the Peloponnesian school. This theory is
supported by an inscription upon one of the four compositions of the
frieze, the gigantomachy — which is signed by the artist. The inscrip-
tion is cut on the shield of one of the giants fighting Apollon and Dio-
nysos. In the name of the artist occurs the telltale Argive Lambda.
M. Homolle concludes his article as follows : " The frieze of Siph-
nos is of Argive workmanship ; it is hardly necessary to call attention
to its importance, for it brings down to the close of the vi century the
history of this school, the activity of which at the beginning of the
same century is shown by the Apollos and metopes of the treasury of
Sikyon. Of this school we knew nothing hithertofore, except from
texts which were both rare and vague ; the material for it consisted of
monuments of uncertain provenience and hypothetical attribution.
Henceforth we are enabled to study its monuments in hand ; we can
understand its spirit, define its character and follow its evolutions.
The art of the Peloponnesos now takes shape before our eyes and the
consequence of this fact can be imagined when we realize that it is one
of the earliest schools of Greece, one of the most original and one of
the most faithful to its traditions. It radiates over Southern Italy and
influences at a decisive moment the art of Attica."
This article is illustrated by: (1) metopes of the treasury of Sikyon,
which represents the return of Idas and the Dioskouroi bringing their
booty back from Messenia; (2) three figures from the assembly of the
gods, the gigantomachy, and the combat of Menelaos and Hektor from
the treasury of Siphnos.
ELEU8I8. — Inscriptions. — In the *E<t>rnjL€pU'Apx<uo\oyiKy (1894, pp. 161-
186), A. N. Skias publishes thirty-four Inscriptions from Eleusis. Most
of these are dedications, many of them fragmentary. In 21 the
artist's name, *Aya^o#cX^s K^cmticvs, and in 22 Su>ras appears. No. 5
appears to be a record of some building, Nos. 7 and 8 fragments of an
account. No. 14 consists of eight fragments, one of considerable size,
and appears to contain rules concerning the treatment of temple
property.
EPIDAUROS. — The Stadion and a Statue by Thrasymedes. — The 'AtXclvtU
(New York) of Dec. 8, 1894, states that the stadion at Epidauros has
been excavated. In shape it was like an amphitheatre, with marble
seats. The a<t>ocris or starting-stall is preserved, as is also the goal.
The base of a statue was found, which the 'ArXavrk of Dec. 15 says was
by Thrasymedes, the artist of the chryselephantine statue of Askle-
pios and other sculptures at Epidauros.
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 117"
ERETRIA. — American Excavations. — In a coming number of the Jour-
nal we expect to publish an article by Professor Richardson on the
Temple of Dionysos, which he discovered at Eretria, and another by
Professor Capps on the Theatre at Eretria, especially the irdpoSoi.
In the meanwhile we here reproduce a letter written by Mr. Capps
for the Nation, referring also to part of an early report by Professor
Richardson published in this Journal, 1894, No. 2, pp. 308-9 :
" The short but successful campaign of excavation conducted by
the American School at Eretria, during the last three weeks in May,
deserves mention in the columns of the Natwn, not only on account of
the actual results obtained, but also to enforce the moral recently laid
down by Dr. Robinson in your columns, that a promising site should
not be abandoned until everything has been brought to light that may
prove valuable to the historian, philologist or archaeologist. In the
springs of 1891 and 1892 the School had conducted excavations
on this site, especially in the theatre, with gratifying results. The
field was so promising and so important for Greek history that the
director, Prof. Richardson, wisely decided again to undertake excava-
tions there. Since the available funds were limited, he determined to
strike for certain definite results, viz., (1) to learn whether the pecu-
liar location of the theatre was to be accounted for by the presence of
a sanctuary of Dionysos in its immediate vicinity ; (2) whether pre-
Persian remains were to be found on the Akropolis ; (3) to determine
the site of the famous temple of Artemis Amarysia ; (4) to lay bare
the main street leading to the Akropolis ; and (5) to open the large
tumulus east of the city. This programme was carried out with the
following results.
"The core of the tumulus was formed by a massive stone tower, of
which three sides had fallen. No traces of a grave were found. Ten-
tative diggings on the south slope of Kotronis, the site generally
selected by topographists for the temple of Artemis, showed incon-
testably that no tethple had ever stood there. Thus one unknown
quantity is eliminated from the problem that the discoverer of this
temple will have to solve. A trench (fifty feet long and down to the
solid rock) that was dug on top of the Akropolis revealed no pre-
Persian remains.
"So much for negative results. The less speculative and more
serious digging, employing from forty-five to seventy-five men, was
done between the theatre and the present village. The first and, as it
proved, the most important discovery was made by the men working
under the direction of Prof. Phillips, of Marietta. They were search-
ing for the temple of Dionysos, and by the night of the first day had
found the foundation of the cella wall. Three courses of the founda-
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118 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH2E0L0QY. [Greece.]
tions stand in good preservation. Quantities of charred wood and of
cinders found inside the temple, and a hard thick layer of calcinated
poros on the north and northeast sides, give evidence of how the tem-
ple was destroyed, and explain the absence of architectural and sculp-
tural remains in the debris. Only one small marble head of Aphro-
dite was found. The large massive rectangular structure uncovered
in the excavations of 1891, lying east of the temple and south of the
theatre, was now seen to be the altar of the god. Nowhere in Greece
can one see the group of three structures that belonged to the well-
organized worship of Dionysos — temple, altar and theatre — so well
preserved as here.
" Unfortunately, the other excavations had to be left unfinished.
A long stretch of the ancient street, lined with private houses, was un-
covered, but much remains to be done. Doubtless one might find
here important data for the construction of the Greek house, for the
foundation walls seem to be preserved everywhere. It is especially
to be regretted that the work on the theatre could not be finished.
This theatre, now famous in the history of the stage controversy, was
partly excavated most opportunely in 1891, and at once furnished
much aid and comfort to the advocates of both sides of the question.
The stage buildings twelve feet above the level of the orchestra, on the
strength of which Mr. Gardner contends that the Greek theatre had a
high stage ; the tunnel leading to the centre of the orchestra, which
Dr. Dorpfeld believes to be distinctly in favor of the opposite view;
the vaulted passage under the scena, which neither Dorpfeld nor
Gardner has explained satisfactorily — these are some of the peculiari-
ties of this theatre about which controversy rages. It is clear that if
an answer to these problems is to be found, it must come from the
building itself, for excavation has already shown that at least the
ground-plan of the structure can be recovered.
a Something was done this year. The foundations of the west part
of the scene buildings were uncovered, and a long line of column
bases on which once stood choragic inscriptions and tripod columns.
The outer wall of the west parodos was excavated throughout its
whole length, and the fact was established that this parados, unlike
the other, ascended from the level of the orchestra at a very steep
grade. It seems at least probable that this parodos was practically
closed to the spectators, and that herein we have an explanation of
the vaulted passage.
" Much remains to be done on the theatre, and must be done by
the Americans if they wish to be looked upon by archaeologists as
thoroughly competent and conscientious excavators. Dr. Robinson
.said a good word to this effect about the excavations at the Heraion ;
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[[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 119
it applies also to Eretria. Dr. Dorpfeld takes his large company of
scholars of all nations each year to Eretria to see this theatre, and also
to Megalopolis. I can testify that the clean work of the English
School contrasted strongly with that of the American, and was noticed
and commented on by all. A few years ago we had a first claim on
the thousands of tombs, rich in archaeological material, some of which
Dr. Waldstein opened with marked success. Now the enterprising
Oreek Archaeological Society has undertaken this work on its own
account, and a unique opportunity for archaeological discovery has
passed from our hands. But there is plenty of work left to be done
in Eretria. The whole site is teeming with ruins a few feet under the
surface. It is earnestly to be hoped that the American School will be
able not only to finish the work at Argos, but to continue that at
Eretria, so as to leave the latter site as creditable a monument to its
archaeological activity as the former bids fair to be.
Athens, July 15, 1894. Edward Capps."
KATANDRITI (near Marathon.) — Mycen>can Tombs. — The *AtWto (New
York) for Dec. 8, 1894, states that at Katandriti, near Marathon, ten
•early tombs have been found containing vases of Mycenaean style,
rings, etc., of gold, and pithoi containing human remains.
KOPAiS. — Excavations at Gha. — Mycen/can Palace. — In the three pre-
ceding numbers of the Journal we have noticed the excavations
about the lake of Kopais. Since then we have received the number
of the Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique, in which A. de Ridder
gives a full account of the excavations upon the island of Gha. This
island has the form of an irregular triangle, or rather that of a pear,
•extending from east to west, about three kilometers in circumference,
and with a superficial area of about two hundred thousand square
meters. From every side the ground slopes down, and in certain di-
rections, especially at the north, very abruptly ; the lowest portion is
toward the east; the highest toward the north, where the palace is
situated. On account of its rocky character the greater part of the
island is uninhabitable ; even where the buildings were situated the
•earth is rarely as much as a metre in thickness. It was easy with
the materials which the ground afforded to compass the island with
heavy walls ; thus when the Minyans thought it necessary to fortify
the island, they surrounded it with a rampart nearly six metres in
thickness. There was no occasion for them to call upon the archi-
tects from Tiryns. Immense dykes and a series of fortified posts, analo-
gous to the system of defence at Mykenai, bear witness to-day to their
skill as architects. The rampart bears a strong resemblance to the
walls of Tiryns in the homogeneity of its construction, the similarity
and frequency of the abutments, in the size and material used, and
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120 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Greece.}
even in the manner in which these immense blocks were fashioned.
The island, much larger than the akropoli of Tiryns and Mykenai, had
a large number of gates. Strangely enough, the eastern ramp leads-
to no opening in the wall; the same is the case for the dyke toward
the northeast. Wherever communication seemed direct with the out-
side, there seems to have been an evident intention of avoiding plac-
ing a gate; they wished to oblige the assailant to pass as far as possi-
ble along the ramparts. Of the four gates, the western leads toward
the Kephissos and towards Kopais ; the northern toward the Kephis-
sos and the ravine of Kokkino ; the two others toward the south and
Fig. X.— Mycenaean Palace of Gha.
southeast toward Akraiphnion. The northern gate measures 5m. .45-
in width, and is protected by two towers each 5m. wide ; this leads
into a small court 6 m. deep and 8.45 m. wide. The southern gate ia
analogous to the gate of the lions at Mykenai. In each case there is a
tower set obliquely to the line of the wall, thus forcing the assailant
to leave his right side exposed, and to enter through a long corridor
defended on both sides. The gates and walls are minor matters com-
pared with the palace. Ross thought, in 1834, that there were no-
ruins of buildings, but three years later, in 1837, Urlichs pointed out
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[Greece.] ARCHJE0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 121
the position of different buildings. Subsequent voyagers observed :
(1) At the north a construction about 60 m. long and 10 broad ; (2)
at the west a church, which was utilized as a place of refuge by the
Greeks during the War of Independence in 1821 ; and finally towards
the south, some further ruins which they thought belonged to the
Middle Ages. The proposed later origin of these structures was due
to the presence of mortar and to plaster walls; doubtless also to the
fact that the walls were slender in proportion to those of the ramparts.
But since the same characters were found at Hissarlik, Tiryns and
Mykenai, they may be taken as certain signs of early origin. The
plan of the building shows that the palace was composed of two
wings, united so as to form a right angle; one follows the general di-
rection of the wall, and without counting the abutments, is 80.21 m.
long; the second wing extends toward the interior of the island and
is 72.65 m. long. The superficial area of the space inclosed is 1871
sq. m., which is entirely inclosed with walls, with the exception of
one point toward the middle of the north wing, where was the neces-
sary entrance. Along the entire length of the inner wall is a narrow
corridor which serves as protection for the rooms beyond. Even this
device seemed insufficient, since only two rooms opened upon the
corridor, the others being still protected by a second corridor. Into
several of the rooms one cannot enter without first having passed
through an adjoining room. It will be seen from an inspection of the
plan that the palace is divided into a series of distinct departments,
three of these occurring in the northern wing and two in the southern.
The superficial area of the rooms and corridors is very variable ; the
corridors average 2 m. in width. The largest rooms, as might be sup-
posed, are those which are inaccessible except through an adjoining
room. The area of the largest of these is 82.25 sq. m. At either end of
the wing is found a tower. If we compare this plan with that of the
palaces of Mykenai and Tiryns, we find points of difference as well as
resemblance. To be sure the Mycenaean palaces ordinarily formed an
irregular quadrilateral, but the conformation of the ground at Gha led
to the arrangement of two wings at right angles to each other. As at
Mykenai and Tiryns, there is a closer relation between the palace and
rampart. Nowhere is this relation closer than in the northern wing
of the palace at Gha, which overlooks not only the plain as far as
Kopai'8, but the entire island and a large part of the lake. The inter-
nal division of the palace is that of an inclosure with a single en-
trance and with the principal rooms preceded by a vestibule or
entrance-room and communicating with each other only by a narrow
corridor. The plan is more simple in detail than at Tiryns ; there are
no staircases ; there is but a single story, and no room has more than
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122 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
a single vestibule ; and, finally, the rooms themselves are less spacious.
The agreement of the plan of the palace of Gha and that of Mycenaean
palaces is found also in the mode of managing materials and in the
ornamentation of the rooms. We will study first the character of the
walls, then the door-sills and floors, the decoration of interior walls,
the discharging canals, and finally the fragments of vases and metals
found within the enclosure of the palace.
In the disposition of the walls, the management of the materials of
the outer inclosing walls and the inner walls is different. In the case
of the ramparts, the method is that called Cyclopean, consisting of the
use of large irregular blocks arranged in almost horizontal lines. The
insertion of little intercalary stones has almost completely disap-
peared, having been replaced by a clay mortar of which there are dis-
tinct traces. The blocks are of the largest which are found on the
island ; and the inner wall, in this respect, yields in nothing to the exte-
rior wall. The height of the walls is variable. At the north, where it
merges with that of the rampart, it reaches the height of 4.25 m. ; no-
where is it less than 1.50 m. The interior inclosing wall is transi-
tional between the preceding method and that of squared blocks.
The blocks are considerably smaller, arranged in courses and united
by clay mortar; their thickness varies from 2.10 m. to 1.20 m., but
their height is uniform, being never over 50 m. The visible portions of
these walls are carefully covered with a thick coating of plaster, which
is still preserved in parts. At Tiryns we find walls of the same char-
acter; they have the same breadth, reach approximately the same
height, are united by clay mortar and covered with plaster ; the only
difference is that the antae of sandstone, which are nowhere lacking at
Tiryns, are not found in our fortress. Corresponding to these heavy
walls we find a substantial pavement. Upon a layer of juxtaposed
stones was placed the pavement made of chalk mortar. It may be
raised by the pick in irregular plaques of a yellowish white color, and
when broken sends forth dust. To give the pavement more solidity,
little pebbles are mixed with the chalk ; on the other hand the pave-
ment seems not to have been decorated. Almost everywhere traces
of fire are apparent; the pliable plaques detached by the pick are
often almost black. Sometimes dark stones penetrate the floor cover-
ing to a depth of 0.04 m., indicating a fire of some importance. In
one of the vestibules eighteen large flags of bluish calcareous stone
form the pavement, but this is exceptional. If we compare the pave-
ments of Tiryns and Mykenai, we find the same kind of floor cover-
ing and successive layers, the same use of gravel mixed with chalk,
the same trace of fire ; and at Mykenai, if not at Tiryns, the same
stone paving of the vestibule. Between the rooms thus paved there
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[Grbbck.] ARCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 123
are thirty-nine openings of variable width ; in each of these is a sill
made of a single block of a bluish conglomerate not used in the en-
closing walls. .The thickness of these sills is approximately the same,
about .15 m., but the form is very irregular; they do not occupy the
entire space between the two ends of the wall, although in breadth
they surpass the thickness of the walls. That each of these sills was
made for a door is proved by the four hinges of bronze found in differ-
ent parts of the palace. Similar sills and similar hinges of bronze
were found at Tiryns and Mykenai. Whether these rooms had any
other decoration, any yellowish white plaster, is difficult to say ; only
one room and one vestibule preserved any fragments of frescoes ; it is
probable that the other rooms had merely plastered walls. This ves-
tibule was decorated in a very rich style ; it contained a continuous
frieze of which it is impossible now to give a restoration, though the
ornament included the Mycenaean dart, in which is inscribed a red-
dish spiral. Decoration of this character occurs neither at Mykenai
nor at Tiryns ; it appears to be a prototype of the geometric style of
ornamentation found in Boiotia studied by Boehlau. The decoration
of the room was of a more simple character, consisting of painted
bands of different colors. Under two of the door-sills were found
water conduits of pointed arch form; the inclination, at first very
gentle, increases sharply, and the channel plunges into the ground.
Their purpose seems to have been to prevent the rain from injuring
the foundation of the walls. Similar water conduits were found at
Mykenai and at Tiryns, the only difference being that at Tiryns the
terminations occur within the dwelling rooms and are covered by
flags of stone.
The metals at Gha are few and used for practical purposes, and not
for ornament. We have seen the hinges of bronze, the only objects
of this metal found on the island. Lead is found more frequently; it
is always in the form of plaques, and appears to have been used for
the purpose of attaching the door-jambs to the walls. At Mykenai,
Tiryns and Hissarlik much use was made of lead ; they made of it
large jars to contain grain, but apparently did not employ it in con-
struction. One of these plaques of lead shows traces of iron, but from
this we cannot conclude that iron was in current use at this period*
An ornamental purpose seems to have been served by the fragments
of stucco found in the form of an engaged colonette. Sometimes the
projecting portion is in sections, almost square, being simply rounded
at the angles. Ordinarily it is in sections, a semi-circle, or, more ex-
actly, the third portion of a circle. Finally, the fragments have been
found in the form of pilasters with channelings. Anything like this
atyle of ornamentation has never been found in any Mycenaean palace ;
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124 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJSOLOQF. [Greece.]
doubtless they preferred frescoes or other decoration. In fact, the
only tworooms at Gha which are frescoed are not provided with these
colonettes. In the frequent use of this type we see proof of hasty
decoration and extreme simplicity. This use of stucco served to hide
the uniformity of the walls. Fragments of vases found in the palace
are few and without significance ; they belong to two groups — cups
and bowls. The former class are too common in Mycensean pottery
and in that of Boiotia to require more than mere mention. The
bowls have a flat base, are wheel made, and occasionally recall exam-
ples found at Tiryns.
Another large building is found situated between the northern and
southern gate. The walls are made in the same manner as the inclos-
ing walls of the palace, but more roughly, more rudely, and without
plastering. Within these walls there is but little architectural detail.
This building is contemporary with the palace. We find here the
same kind of pavement, the same plaques of lead, the same colonettes
of stucco, the same forms of vases, made of the same earth, turned
with the same inexperience, and decorated with the same simplicity.
This apparently served the purpose of a soldiers' and servants' hall.
Like the palace, it appears to have been built in haste, and to have
been inhabited a comparatively short time. From the character of
the decoration upon the vases, which approximates a transitional
style, we infer that these buildings belonged to the end rather than to
the beginning of the Mycenaean period.
In the neighborhood of Gha are found other constructions of the
same style; at Orchomenos a tholos; between Orchomenos and Gha,
three colossal dykes; and, finally, nearer still — on the heights of the-
Ptoion — a series of fortified posts. Of these constructions two were
already famous in antiquity. The tholos passed as the Treasury of
the Minyans, and the dykes were part of the work for drying up the
lake undertaken by the Minyans. It is to this people that we conse-
quently attribute the forts of the Ptoion and the constructions at Gha.
The island formed for them a large fortified camp from which they
could survey the plain and protect the dykes.
We are obliged to set aside the suggestion of Tsoundas, according
to whom Mycensean civilization was originated by lake dwellers, and
that consequently the marshes of Kopais were selected, so that a city
might be built there upon piles. It is quite possible that primitive
villages of the lake were built upon the marshy ground, but these
could have nothing in common with the advanced construction of the
rampart and palace of Gha. Others, like Urlichs, have supposed it to
be the ancient Kopai, or, like Curtius, the ancient Orchomenos.
These hypotheses have long since been disposed of. More plausible-
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS, 125
is the theory that Gha was one of the four towns engulfed by the
waters of the lake. Without doubt the akropolis was never inun*
dated, but it has been supposed that the lower town was engulfed ;
there is, however, nothing to prove that the island ever had a lower
town which could be so engulfed ; and if the fortifications at Gha are
contemporary with the construction of the dykes, it is hardly proba-
ble that the waters would have so soon dashed them down and the
palaces consequently abandoned. Only a war could have caused the
burning and the untimely ruin of the establishment formed upon
the island. Of these four legendary towns, three are fixed by tradi-
tion ; the position of one only, that of Arne, remains uncertain. Two
of these towns were ruled over by Athamas. Now, when we observe
that Gha is situated in the Athamantian plain, we are disposed to see
in this island, if not the centre, at least one of the citadels of Atha-
mas. The island, linked in the closest manner with the fortunes of
Orchomenos, was destroyed not by a cataclysm, but by the final
assault which subjected the Minyans. Hastily built, it could not re-
sist the attack and perished almost as soon as it was inhabited.
MARATHON (near). — Discovery at Koukounari. — Prof. T. D. Seymour,
Chairman of the Managing Committee of the American School at
Athens, has received details of a discovery by a party from the School
which had been excavating at the hamlet of Koukounari, on the slope
of Pentelikos, some two or three miles from the field of Marathon,
and about eighteen miles from Athens. Prof. R. B. Richardson of the
School had charge of the excavations, which were suggested by find-
ing two reliefs of the best period, and seeing some marble blocks
built into the walls of a church and adjacent building.
During the first half hour of the work, which lasted several days,
there was found a stone bearing an inscription in double columns
lying face downward on the sill of a building older than a ruined
church on the site of which the excavation was made. The whole
left-hand side on the surface is gone. From its style of letters, the
orthography, and the mention of an archon, its date can be put at
about the middle of the iv century. Apparently it is a sacrificial cal-
endar. From its mention of places a very close connection is estab-
lished with the plain of Marathon. The number of deities it mentions
is remarkable, and from one of the incomplete words upon it the
inference is drawn that it stood perhaps on the site of the deme
Hekale. The most reasonable construction makes the stone apply to
the tetrapolis of the Marathonian neighborhood, a part of its inscrip-
tion reading: "This sacrifice is offered the second year after the
archonship of Euboulos by the inhabitants of the Tetrapolis." Divini-
ties, animals and prices make up a large part of the inscription on the
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126 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCBJSOLOGF. [Gbkeck.]
stone, which Prof. Richardson will describe in the Journal of Archae-
ology.
There were also found in the excavation three fragments of reliefs,
two of them showing a good period of art. One was part of a seated
figure, the other the trunks of three standing ones. Beneath the site
of the church, on the surface, were found unfluted columns and other
remains of an older and much finer underlying church edifice.— N. Y.
Evening Post, March 27.
At the moment of going to press we have received Professor Richard-
son's detailed paper, which confirms the great interest of this inscrip-
tion. It will be issued in the next number.
MESSENIA.— To the Mitth. Arch. Inst. Athen. (1894, pp. 351-367), E.
Pernice contributes an article entitled From Messenia. Ross, Reisen und
Reiserouten (pp. 2-4), mentions two inscribed stones that once marked
the boundary of Lakonia and Messenia. Both were supposed to be
destroyed. One has been found on the heights of Taygetos, half way
between Sitsova and Kastania. The fragmentary inscription origin-
ally read, *Opos Acucc&u/iovi Trpos Mecroyvrp/. It probably marked the
boundary settled in a. d. 25. On high ground between the streams
Stachte&s and Sovol&ka lies the village J&nitsa. Here are remains of
very early walls. This is the site of the ancient Pheroi, not Kala-
mata, as has been supposed. The site is now too far from the sea, but
the low land is of late formation. Two inscriptions are published,
the first has appeared in Bull. Oorr. Hell., i, pp. 31, 32, the second is a
fragmentary honorary decree. A sketch-map shows the position of
Janitsa. Remains of a road from Pharai toward Sparta, south of the
Langada pass, are described. This must be the road followed by
Telemachos.
LAURION. — A. Kordellar, director of the Greek mining company at
Laurion, writes of Antiquities of Laurion. He discusses the topography
of Laurion and the ancient mining operations. The region nearest
Sunion was occupied by wealthy people. Two inscriptions are pub-
lished. The first belongs to the middle of the iv century b. c. and
contains provisions for measuring and preserving an agora presented
by one Leukios to the Sunians. The second reads : 'Wi'/fyXc
ipXLKafuvevrd xaip€* A square Hermes of Dionysos, with broken face,
is described. P. Wolters adds some remarks and publishes a frag-
ment of a rock-cut inscription. — Mittheil. Athen., 1894, pp. 238-47.
OLYMPIA— In the Jahrbuch Arch. Inst. (1894, pp. 88-114), K. Wer-
nicke gives two chapters of Olympian Contributions. He discusses (1)
the altars of Olympia, and (2) the history of the Heraion. The early
altar of Zeus was near the Heraion. The great altar was erected orig-
inally in the v century b. c. Pausanias' account (v, 14 f.) of altars
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 127
and sacrifices at Olympia is trustworthy. The sacrifices were per-
formed in two divisions, the first at the oldest and most important
altars, and at some later ones in their neighborhood, these being all
within the Altis, the second at the remaining altars, chiefly outside
the Altis. The arrangement of Pausanias is topographical, following
the course of the sacrificial procession. This is made clear by a plan.
The great base in the Heraion cannot be the base of the cult-statues,
owing to its dimensions. The Heraion was made into a sort of mu-
seum in preparation for the visit of the Emperor Nero, and in it were
set up statues of his wife, Poppaea, and his mother, Agrippina, cor-
responding to Olympias and Eurydike. The extant portrait statue
found in the Heraion represents Poppaea. The works of art in the
Heraion were arranged in their historical order, the oldest next the
cult-statues of Hera and Zeus. At the same time the side walls of
the niches were removed. These niches may originally have been
intended for the maidens who wove the sacred peplos. The arrange-
ment of the statues is shown by a cut. A third chapter of Olympian
Contributions, entitled The Proedria and the Hellanodikeon, is in the next
number of the Jahrbuch, pp. 127-135. The proedria, or meeting-place
of the Hellanodikai is found to be the southern wing of the building
to the whole of which the name bouleuterion has hitherto been given.
The bouleuterion was only the northern wing. The apse of each
wing was an archive-chamber, and in the proedria a treasury. The
Hellanodikeon, or dwelling of the Hellanodikai, was the so-called
" Siidostbau " until the time of Nero. Then that building was pre-
pared for the imperial dwelling, and the Hellanodikai occupied rooms
added for their use to the Theokoleon. There was, therefore, at the
time of Pausanias no building called Hellanodikeon at Olympia.
A fourth chapter is contributed by Wernicke to the latest issue of
the Jahrbuch (pp. 191-204). The passage Pausanias VI, 21, 2, and
the remains of the gymnasion at Olympia are compared with Vitru-
vius, v 11 (two cuts). Vitruvius describes some particular example
of a Greek gymnasium of Roman times. The gymnasion at Olympia
is earlier and less elaborate, but corresponds so closely to Vitruvius,
description that the various parts can be named. The Hippodrome at
Olympia is described. The course was four stadia in length. This
was passed over in the races six (not twelve) times. The starting
stalls (a^oo-is) have the form of a ship's front of great size. The deck
was supported by columns. On the deck was the sign showing when
the race began, and here at the prow was the machinery for opening
the stalls. The altars in the hippodrome all belonged to deities con-
nected with the races.
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128 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
KALAURIA — POROS. — Temple of Poseidon. — The proposed excavation
of the temple of Poseidon, on the island of Kalauria (mod. Poros),
referred to in a previous issue, has taken place, and its results will be
described in the German Mittheilungen (Athens). Dr. Sam. Wide, who
had charge of the work, was assisted by another Swedish archaeolo-
gist, Mr. Kjellberg.
The systematic destruction of everything above ground, which was
carried on even until late years, left only the foundations to be un-
covered, and the thin coating of earth made improbable the discovery
of many antiquities. Considering these drawbacks, the excavations
may be regarded as successful.
The temple rose on a stony plateau about 150 m. high in the pine
woods of Poros. On the east side, facing Sounion and the open sea,
there was found the temenos of the temple, with its peribolos wall
having a length of 56 metres and a width of 28 metres. The wall con-
sists of unworked blocks of dark limestone and of poros stone. There
were two entrances to the enclosure, on the east and south sides, one
of which was adorned with a propylaeum. Both the temple, which is
of Ionic style, and the peribolos, were built in the same age, viz., the
vi century b. c.
[Another account speaks of it as Doric, not Ionic. " In the centre
of this temenos were some fragments of the walls and pavement of a
temple, doubtless a doric distyle in antis of the vi century. This is,
without doubt, the temple of Poseidon, in which Demosthenes took
refuge to die."]
Amongst the other constructions discovered was a stoa of polygo-
nal stones, the pillars of which resemble somewhat the pillars of the
Parthenon, and seem to belong to the second part of the v century
b. c. Another stoa of later date is thought to have been built by
Eumenes II. These stoas were on a second peribolos, built upon a
large terrace, reached from the southern door of the peribolos wall of
the temple. To these must be added a propylaeum leading to the
square before the temple ; another stoa to the west of this propy-
laeum; a building in form of a trapezium; and a courtyard sur-
rounded by little rooms.
These smaller structures are to the west of the temple. Their use
and character cannot yet be ascertained. It is conjectured that the
two porticoes and their annexes served for the assemblies of the Am-
phiktiony of the seven cities and formed the Bouleuterion.
Among the objects found inside the temenos are many fragments
of ez-voto8, of which the majority belong to the vi century and some
to the cult of Poseidon. Among them are of special interest a cut
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 129
Island stone and a fragment of Mycenaean vase. — Athen&um, July 28,
Sept 8, 1894, Jan. 19, 1895 ; Revue Arch., Oct-Dec., 1894.
PRASIAI (Attica). — Mycenaean Necropolis. — The %Kr\avrk (New York) for
Dec. 8, 1894, states that at that time Mr. Stais had examined twenty-
two prehistoric tombs in the ancient deme of Prasiai. In these were
found numerous vases with paintings differing from those hitherto
known on Mycenaean vases. Some bronze and copper knives were
also found.
A notice in the Athenxum of Dec. 8 says : The prehistoric necropo-
lis of Prasiai is being excavated by the Athenian Archaeological So-
ciety, and from the tombs that have already been opened more than
two hundred vases have been obtained, together with two sword-
blades and three rings, one of gold and two of silver. The vases have
the usual Mycenaean form ; but some of them are characterized by
decorative designs not hitherto observed in works of art of that
period.
RHODOS.— In the MUtheil. Inst. Athen. (1894, pp. 299-300), is a re-
port, founded upon one of Dr. Stylianos Saridakis, concerning the
rock-cut graves on the northern slope of the Akropolis of Rhodos. In
these numerous specimens of pottery, terracottas and beads, besides
bones, a gold wreath and a gilded bronze KoAmy. A stone apparently
belonging to one of the graves is inscribed :
*Ap^tVtKOS UpGUOifwVTOS
KvfjucraXevs.
The date assigned is the in century b. c.
SAMOTHRAKE.— Ust of Magistrates.— In the Mitth. Arch. Inst. Athen.
(1894, pp. 397-402), 0. Kern publishes a new List of Theoroi from
Samothrake, furnished him by N. B. Phardys. This list came origin-
ally from the same edifice as those treated by Bermdorf, Neue Unters.
auf Samothrake (1880), p. 96, sqq.
THEBES.— Sculptured Base from the Agora.— The 'ArAarm (New York)
of Jan. 26, states that in the agora at Thebes a four-sided base had
been found. The front has> relief representing a fox. The relief of
the back represents a winged serpent with two-clawed feet. The
work is ascribed to Roman times. This base originally stood upon
another base.
THERA. — Testament of Epikteta. — In the 'EQrjfitpis *Apx<ukoyttcj (1894,
pp. 141-148), Th. Homolle writes on The Date of the Testament of Epik-
teta. Boeck (C. I. G., 2448) showed that this inscription belonged to
Thera, and assigned it to the hi or ii century b. c. Ricci (ifcm. Antichi,
n, 1894) assigns it to the first quarter of the ii century. Comparison
with inscriptions found at Delos, three of which are here published,
shows that the opinions of these scholars are correct, and fixes the
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180 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOY.
date between 210 andJ195 b. c, on account of the occurrence of the
same proper names in the inscriptions.
TH ESPIAL — Fragments of a Hellenistic Sarcophagus. — During the
course of the excavations of the French School at Thespiai, in 1890,
the fragments of a sarcophagus of unusual interest were found. They
are now in the National Museum at Athens. The main subject of its
decoration is the labors of Herakles. Three out of the four sides are
occupied by episodes from his labors. The fourth and one of the
main sides was probably occupied by two sphinxes walking towards
each other. One of these sphinxes has been partially preserved ; it
has a lion's body and spread wings, and does not differ much from
sphinxes found upon numerous sarcophagi. Five only of the labors
of Herakles found place on this sarcophagus. On the main front is
Herakles and the boar of Erymanthos, Herakles and Antaios, Hera-
kles and the Amazon Hippolyta; on the left side is Herakles and
Kerberos, and on the right Herakles and the Hydra. The reliefs are
in extremely fragmentary condition. The sculptor is inspired in his
compositions by models of the v and rv centuries b. c. The composi-
tion is in every case simple and classical, quite different from the con-
fused compositions of the Roman period. The low relief, which is
employed throughout, completes the proof that we have here not
a work of Roman art, but one of the very few sarcophagi of Greek
art, certainly not later than the Hellenistic period. — Bull. Gorr. HeU.j
August-October, 1894.
Sculpture by Euthykrates — In the Jahrbuch Arch. Inst. (1894, pp. 165-
6), W. Klein writes on The Thespiadae. In Plin. N. H., 34, 7, the
Bamberg MS. reads itaque optume expremt [Euthycrates] Herculem Del-
phis et Alexandrum Thespis venatorem et proelium equestre, etc. Other
MSS. have thespiadas between et and proelium. Euthykrates seems,
then, to have made a group of Muses also for Thespia.
BYZANTINE ART AND ANTIQUITIES.
BYZANTINE SEALS. — M. Schlumberger publishes in the Revue des
Etudes Grecques (July-December, 1894), the third in his series of arti-
cles on inedited Byzantine seals, the former series having been pub-
lished in the same review for 1889 and 1891. A reproduction is given
of every seal. They vary in character and in period and represent
every variety of ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries of the empire, such
as patriarchs, bishops, metropolitans, archbishops, monasteries, em-
perors, members of the royal family, and such dignitaries as silen-
tiaries, spatharii, logothetes, curopalates, turmarchs, strators, vesti-
archs, etc.
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ARCHMOLOGICAL NEWS. 131
BYZANTINE DOMINATION IN AFRICA. — M. Diehl publishes in the
Byzantinische Zeitschrift (1895, No. 1) a paper entitled Etudes sur Vhis*
toire de la domination Byzantine en Afrique. It deals with the relations
between the Byzantine government and the native populations, and is
a detached fragment from an extensive memoir, the manuscript of
which has lately been crowned by the French Academy and which is
soon to be published.
LEO AND ALEXANDER, EMPERORS OF BYZANTIUM. — Professor Lam-
bros calls attention to a Byzantine inscription of the year 895 a. d.
This inscription shows that in this year, the ninth after the death of
Basil the Macedonian, Alexander still retained his full rights as co-
emperor with his brother Leo. It is well known how Leo ignored his
brother in all matters of government, and how Alexander was passive
under the treatment. It had not yet been ascertained how long the
name of Alexander was allowed to be coupled with that of his brother,
but a second inscription here published would seem to show that the
year 904 was the last in which Alexander's name appears with his
brother's. — Byzant Zeitschrift, 1895, No. 1.
BYZANTINE ILLUMINATIONS. — Mr. Kirpicnikov has an article in the
Byzantinische Zeitschrift (1895, No. 1), in which he makes a careful
study of two Byzantine illuminated manuscriptions of the homilies
for the festivals of the Virgin by the monk Jacob of Kokkinobaphos.
One copy is in the National Library in Paris (No. 1208), the other is
in the Vatican (No. 1 162). They have attracted much attention since
the time of Agincourt, having been illustrated notably by Kondakov,
Bordier and Rohault de Fleury. The present article has for its object
to correct the errors of Bordier and Kondakov. It is illustrated by a
number of interesting cuts, which show the artistic beauty and inter-
est of these illuminations. The corrections relate partly to the trans-
lation of the descriptive titles of the illuminations, partly to the iden-
tification of subjects and figures.
PRESERVATION OF THE GREEK RITE IN SOUTHERN ITALY AND BY-
ZANTINE MONASTERIES. — M. Gay gives a list of the Greek Basilian
monasteries in Calabria and the Terra d'Otranto which he has been
able to gather from the CoUectoriey or accounts of tax collectors of the
kingdom of Naples charged with collecting the tithes for the Roman
Church. In enumerating the ecclesiastics who have paid certain
sums into their hands, the tax collectors name separately in several
dioceses, " Clerici Latini " and the " Clerici Greci." They indicate
places where they reside a " prothopapa," and name the clerks of such
and such a " prothopapatus." Elsewhere monasteries are indicated
expressly as belonging to the order of St. Basil— " Ordinis Sancti
Basilii." The notes which are here utilized are taken from the ac-
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132 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
count of the years 1326-28 for Calabria, and from those of the year
1373 for the Terra d'Otranto. Of course no complete list of Greek
monasteries can be expected in such notes. For the list of monas-
teries that M. Gay has drawn up we refer to his paper.
CONSTANTINOPLE. — Foundation of a Russian Arch/eological Institute of
Byzantine Studies. — The Russian government has decided upon the
foundation of a Russian Archaeological Institute in Constantinople.
Its object will be to forward the scientific researches of Russian scholars
in the realm of the antiquities and history of Greece, Asia Minor, and
in feet the entire Byzantine field. The administration of this school
is in charge of the Russian embassy. Its personnel will consist of a
director, a secretary and a body of students. The government gives
the school a yearly grant of 1200 rubles in gold. It is said that the
director will be Th. Uspenskij, professor in the University of Odessa.
The opening of the institute was to take place on January 15. — Byzan-
tinixche Zeitechrift, 1895, No. 1.
Imperial Monograms in St. Serqius. — Mr. Swainson, joint author of the
recent work on St. Sophia, has a note in the Byzantinische Zeiteckrift
(1895, No. 1) reproducing and explaining some monograms on the
capitals of the church of St Sergius. The capitals of some of the
columns on both the ground and gynaeceum level have sculptured
monograms, and on the frieze of the lower border runs a long inscrip-
tion which is given in Salzenberg's great work. The monograms are
similar to those on the capitals of St. Sophia, which were deciphered
by MM. Curtis and Aristarches.
Nos. 1-10 can be read " of Justinian ;" they are similar to those in St.
Sophia, to others on the capitals of St. Irene, etc. Nos. 11-12 bear the
monogram " of Theodora." Nos. 13-21 bear the monogram " of the
king," of which examples can be found on the capitals of St. Sophia.
As the church of St. Sergius was probably built by Justinian before
the death of his uncle, Justinian I, this may account for the absence
of the title " Augusta," as applied to Theodora, which does occur on
the monograms of St Sophia, built when Justinian reigned supreme.
DAPHNION. — Byzantine Mosaics. — In the *E<t>rj(L€pU *Apx<uo\oyiKy (1894,
pp. 149-162), 6. Millet writes again of the Mosaics of Daphnion (see
Journal, ix, p. 575), and publishes one representing the birth of the
Virgin (pi. 9). St Anna reclines on a couch, the legs of which are
nearly covered by a rich curtain. Behind her is a servant with a
long-handled fan. Two other servants bring food — fruit and (appa-
rently) eggs. In the foreground a nurse and a maid are bathing the
new-born child. In the gold background is the inscription, tf ycwypi*
rtfi $€ot6kov, the last word abbreviated. The style resembles that of
the crucifixion. Other representations of the birth of the Virgin are
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ARCHM0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 133
discussed, and this mosaic is assigned to the first years of the xi cen-
tury. It seems to show the influence of ancient works of art, and is
remarkable among works of this period for its delicacy and grace.
DORYLAION.— In the MittheU. Arch. Inst. Athen. (1894, pp. 301-334),
Th. Preger and F. Noack write of the ancient Dorylaion. The ancient
city lay on a hill near Eski-Schekir, by the river Tymbers (now Pur-
sak), not, however, in the present village. The thermae were on the
further (southern) side of the river. The later Dorylaion, founded by
Manuel I, commenced in 1175, was on the site of the modern village
by the Anatolian railway. Remains of the thermae, of a stoa, an arch
and several other ancient buildings are visible. Sixteen inscriptions
and five grave-reliefe from this region and one grave relief from Gediz
(Phrygia Epiktetos) are published (six cuts). The inscriptions are
of Roman times, chiefly honorary or sepulchral. Three are dedica-
tions to Zcvs Bpovra>v, one to Poseidon, one to the river-god Hermus.
The gravestones represent doors or panels sometimes surmounted by
gables. On the doors are reliefs representing the tools of the trade of
the deceased — alabastra, keys, work-baskets, etc.
IKONION.— A Byzantine Inscription.— M. Cumont publishes a funerary
inscription of Ikonion, which had already been imperfectly given in
Sterrett (An Epigraphical Journey through Asia Minor). It shows that on
November 1st, 1297, a certain Michael Komnenos was dead. He calls
himself the son of John and the grandson of another John Komnenos.
This funerary inscription shows not only that he was buried in 1297
at Ikonion, when this city was in the power of the Seldjuk Moham-
medans, but that he also had taken the Mohammedan title of Emir.
M. Cumont shows the interest that this inscription has, giving us a
trace of one of the last members of the imperial Byzantine dynasty of
Trebizond. He shows that this Michael was a son of a John, who
was forced to become a monk, and was himself a son of John Axou-
chos, who was sovereign of Trebizond between 1235-1238, and whose
grandfather was the Manuel Komnenos killed by Isaac Angelus, Em-
peror of Byzantium. The writer explains what seems to be peculiar
in the residence of a Christian prince at a Mohammedan court, by
showing that the Christian princes of Trebizond were allied by mar-
riage to the Seldjuk Sultans, who were also their suzerains. It was
therefore natural, when Michael's father was imprisoned in a cloister
and he himself obliged to flee, he should have sought refuge with the
ally and parent of his family, and should have been received with
honor and given a Mohammedan title.
KIEF. — Byzantine Tomb. — There has recently been found at Kief the
tomb of a woman which dates probably from the second half of the x
century. The contents consist of two fibulas of gilt bronze in the form
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134 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOY.
of tortoise shells, a pair of silver earrings, a silver fibula, a necklace of
beads of cornelian, rock crystal, glass, silver and amber, a cross and
coins that originally hung from the necklace. These coins bear the
name of Romanus I, Constantine X, Stephen and Constantine ; they
were cast between 928 and 944. The two fibulas of gilt bronze were
certainly imported from Scandinavia, for they belong to a type of
objects characteristic in Sweden and Denmark of the period of the
Vikings. Only one other of this type had been found thus far at
Kief, and this kind of decoration is found only in the countries into
which the Northmen penetrated. The earrings, the silver fibula, the
necklace beads and the small cross are decorations that are often
found in the Slavic kureans of the pagan period. This tomb, discov-
ered on the hill upon which the Varangian askold and Dir, and after-
wards Olaf and Igor established themselves, contains, therefore, archae-
ological objects produced by the three influences which united in
the formation of Russia. — Revue Arch., 1894.
ITALY.
MANTOVA. — Isabella i^Este and the Discovery of Frescoes by Correggio. —
Under the title Isabella d'Este et lea artistes de son temps, that indefati-
gable and fascinating writer, Charles Yriarte attempts to reconstruct
the personality of this famous princess, daughter of Hercules of Este>
Duke of Ferrara and of Eleonora of Aragon. At sixteen she married
the great condottiere, the generous and noble ruler, Giovanni Fran-
cesco Gonzaga Marquis of Mantua. Here she lived for half a century,
and here she became one of the most discriminating, fervent and
active patrons of the greatest Italian artists of her day. It is this side
of her personality which Yriarte studies with a view to making clear
her influence upon the development of Renaissance art. First come
the portraits of her by Leonardo da Vinci, Cristoforo Romano, Titian,
Giovanni Santi and Francia — of which the last two have disappeared.
Then follows a description of the portraits of her husband, Giovanni
Francesco Gonzaga, interwoven with interesting personal character
sketches. — Gazette des Beaux Arts, Jan., 1895.
In a second article M. Yriarte studies the traces of Isabella of Este
in the Castel Vecchio at Mantua. Isabella, after becoming Mar-
chioness of Mantua, changed her dwelling three times, removing in
every case the works of art and curiosity of which she was especially
fond. During twenty years she lived in the Castel Vecchio. When
her son became Marquis he gave her in exchange for her apartments
in the annex to the old palace a vast apartment called Paradiso,
especially constructed for her in the Reggia or modern palace, where
she ended her days in 1539. But before taking up her abode in this
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[Italy.] ARCHMOLOQICAL NEWS. 135
second apartment she remained for a while in the Corte vecchio of the
Bonnacolsi Palace. Her apartment in the old palace was called by her
the "Studiolo." For a longtime it had been abandoned and practically
unknown. In one of its rooms, the library, there remains in the
hexogonal vault a charming decoration of cupids which has appar-
ently escaped the attention of art critics. M. Yriarte recognizes in
them a youthful work by Correggio, full of charm. and softness. The
style is so characteristic of the master that there seems to be no doubt
in regard to the attribution. It is known that Correggio came to
Mantua in 1512, at the age of eighteen, with his protector, Count
Manfredi, Lord of Correggio. Here he studied the works of Mantegna,
Lorenzo Costa and Leon Bruno. He especially came under the in-
fluence of the latter painter, who had decorated a room immediately
adjacent to this library. Unfortunately, this work by Bruno was de-
stroyed by Giulio Romano when this painter received full liberty to
renew the decoration of the palace. — Gazette des Beaux arte, March,
1895.
Although a small fragment of the cupola has fallen, the medallions
by Correggio are intact The old fourteenth-century fortress of Man-
tua, in which the •'Studiolo" is situated, was from 1708 to 1866
occupied by the Austrians, who allowed nobody to enter it. The
" Studiolo " was afterwards the repository of the archives of the town,
which so choked it up that access was almost impossible. The
Italian Government, with its usual interest in art, facilitated the re-
searches of M. Yriarte, and he succeeded in examining the frescoes,
freed from the dust of centuries, and in photographing them. Repro-
ductions from these photographs are given in the Gazette.
PALERMO.— Mosaics of the Capella Palatina. — A Russian archaeologist,
A. Pavlowsky, has made in the Revue Archeologique (1894) an elabo-
rate and careful study of the mosaic decoration of this chapel, with a
view to ascertaining whether it is executed according to a system in
which each part had its significance, and bore a relation to a general
scheme. He takes occasion to trace the history of the systematic use
of painting in the service of religion, beginning with the fifth century,
especially in monuments, in Nola, Rome, Ravenna, Constantinople
and in a number of Greek monuments. He concludes that a decora-
tion of this chapel had for its object to represent the history of the
church in its most important episodes, and its most zealous members,
beginning in the dome by the representation of the glory of Christ in
heaven, and ending with that of his glory on earth at the time of the
triumph of the elect after the Last Judgment. The writer makes ex-
tensive use of analogous cycles of Mosaic and painted decoration of
the Middle Ages, both in the East and West, and his treatment is an
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136 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGF. [Italy.]
advance on previous studies of Christian iconography. He closes by
saying : " Thus the Palatine Chapel may be considered as a perfect
type of the decorative system of the greater part of Byzantine and
Byzantino-Russian Churche8.,,
A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
Princeton,
April, 1895.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE VI.
DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS
Bv Antonio Veneziano.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE VII.
CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN
Bv Sano di Pietro.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE VIII.
MADONNA, CHILD AND TWO ANGELS.
BY MATTEO DI GIOVANNI.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE IX.
VIRGIN AND CHILD
Bv Gentile da Fabriano.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE X.
THE PENITENCE OF S. JEROME
Bv Fiorenzo di Lorenzo.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE XI.
LOVE BOUND BY MAIDENS
Florentine School (?) . Salver of the XV Century.
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JOURNAL OF ARCH/EOLOGY.
VOL. X. PLATE XII.
VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH SAINTS, BY RIDOLFO GHIRLANDAJO.
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amekican
Journal of Archaeology.
Vol. X. APRIL-JUNE, 1895. No. II. '
SOME EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES
COLLECTION OF THE YALE SCHOOL OF FINE
ARTS AT NEW HAVEN.
[Plates VI-Xn.]
The main object of the following notes is to call the attention
of specialists to several rare examples of early Italian painting in
the Jarves collection at New Haven, which have not as yet been
subjected to close critical analysis, and to show the relative im-
portance of the collection and the representative quality of its
more important examples.1 The notes are written in a spirit of in-
quiry and with no wish to discredit the judgments of previous stu-
dents, least of all those of Mr. James Jackson Jarves, to whose
taste and enterprise we owe the collection, which through the
earnest and far-seeing efforts of Professor John F. Weir was
procured for Yale University, where it is permanently and worth-
ily housed and conserved.1
The history of the collection, which was begun by Mr. Jarves
about thirty-seven years ago and continued through a consider-
able period, is given in the careful and interesting manual pub-
lished by Yale College in 1868, compiled by Mr. Russell Sturgis,
who supplies an introduction and biographical notices, with
1 Thanks are due to Professor Weir for permission to photograph a few of the
pictures.
137
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138 WILLIAM RANKIN.
measurements, and, in most cases, quite fu.ll descriptions of the
pictures.2
The catalogue contains 119 numbers, of which 115 designate
pictures attributed to Italian masters. One Flemish Madonna
(No. 121), a "Mater Dolorosa" of the school of Bologna, and
several copies of good quality have been, I believe, the only addit-
ions to the collection. A few pictures originally belonging to Mr.
Jarves are now loaned to the Boston Museum of the Fine Arts
by his executors.3 I shall review the collection according to
schools, but not always in chronological order.
PRE-GIOTTESQUE PICTURES. — The first ten numbers of the catar
logue designate pictures assigned to unknown painters of the xi,
xii and xni centuries. With the exception of No. 10, a feeble
Madonna and Child of later Byzantine derivation, and Xo. 5,
which is considered below as probably of the school of Orcagna,
all these are genuine, but in no case significant, specimens of pre-
Giottesque art.
The small panel of St. George killing the dragon (So. 6), in
2 The catalogue contains also prefatory remarks by Mr. Jarves and brief com-
ments in the form of letters from Rio, Eastlake, Messrs. T. A. Trollope and C. C.
Black of London, Signor Bucci of Florence, and Mr. Louis Thies, extracted in con-
densed form from the catalogue of 1860, compiled for the first exhibition of the col-
lection, which was held in the Derby Gallery, 625 Broadway, New York. This
catalogue contained 143 numbers, of which some belonged to pictures which are not
included in the present collection. A catalogue was prepared in 1863 for the exhibi-
tion of the pictures at the Historical Society's Building in New York, and con-
tained 134 numbers. I may also refer the reader to Mr. Jarves's " Art Studies," in
which a large number of the New Haven pictures are reproduced in outline engrav-
ing. (Art Studies. The u Old Masters " of Italy : Painting. Copperplate Illus-
trations. By James Jackson Jarves. N. Y., Derby and Jackson, 1861. London,
Sampson, Low, Son & Co., 47 Ludgate Hill.) The following numbers from the
present catalogue (Manual of the Janes Collection of Early Italian Pictures depos-
ited in the Gallery of the Yale School of the Fine Arts, etc. By Russell Sturois,
Jr. New Haven : Published by Vale College, 1868) are engraved in the " Art
Studies": Nos. 5, 6, 7 (detail), 9, 11, 12, 13 (detail), 14 (detail), 15, 16, 17, 19, 20,
22, 23 (detail), 24 (detail), 26, 26, 32, 35, 39, 42, 49 (detail), 50, 51, 60, 63 (detail),
64, 67, 68, 72, 74, 80, 81 (head), 86, 89, 94, 97 and 114 ; also a Madonna, etc., with
donor, ascribed to D. Ghirlandajo , an Annunciation, ascribed to Lorenzo di Credi,
and a " Holy Family," ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, which are not in the present
collection. At the time of the purchase of the pictures for Yale University (about
1870) there was considerable discussion of the collection in the periodical press.
' No. 18, " Timoteo della Vite," Madonna and Saints, attributed by Dr. Bode to
Pacchiarotto j No. 19, "Tibaldeo di Pellegrino;" No. 20, "School of Raphael,"
and also Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16 and 21.
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 139
dull and dry tones and with slightly gold-shot draperies, though
perfunctory and feeble, is at least distinctly characteristic of By-
zantine technique, of which a very small divided triptych of five
compositions (Nos. 7, 8, 9) is a more interesting although still
insignificant example. The "Miraculous Apparition of Saints
Mercurius and Katherine" (No. 9) is perhaps the best preserved
portion of it. The feeling for motion, the restlessness of the dra-
peries, the long proportions of the figures and the unformulated
treatment of the landscape/ offer distinctive notes of an almost
miniature-like style, which should render the discovery of its
period and derivation easy for the expert in this field. The
" Transfiguration" illustrates that almost finically dainty and sym-
metrical arrangement which is conserved by Duccio (National
Gallery, No. 133Q), and which survived the many changes in
Italian painting down even to the serious and too little appre-
ciated Savoldo (Uffizi, No. (545). The other unascribed pre-Giot-
tesque pictures in New Haven, though of some iconographical
interest, have little quality as art ; they are mainly of debased
xiii century work, the worst defects and mannerisms of which
are manifest in the first example in the gallery to which a definite
authorship is assigned, a " Crucifix" ascribed to Giunta (No.
11), resembling a panel of the Florentine Academy given to
Bonaventura Berlinghieri (No. 101, Catalogue of 1893).
A large oblong (No. 12) of seven compositions might be
classed in the same category with the above, if it were worth
while to dispute its attribution to Margaritone of Arezzo. Much
more interesting is a " Madonna and Child" between SS. John
the Baptist and James and SS. Peter and Francis of Assisi (No.
13), seemingly much repainted, and hung so high as to preclude
close examination. It is of xiii century art and not characteristic
of Cimabue, to whom it is ascribed. The dull "playing card"
ornamentation of the Madonna's throne recalls rather Margari-
tone and his tribe than the more gifted Florentine. The inter-
esting types of the figures are of quite other and seemingly an
earlier tradition.
A email panel of two compositions, the u Crucifixion " and the
" Madonna and Child " (No. 14), is incorrectly ascribed to Duccio,
though it is related to Duccio in style, and is probably by a
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140 WILLIAM RANKIN.
contemporary. There is good color quality in single tones and
considerable naturalness and feeling in the Madonna; but the
awkward angels, the exaggerated high lights and the general
weakness of the execution, refute the catalogue ascription. There
are several small panels of a similar style in the " Sala del Tad-
deo Bartoli" in the gallery of Perugia (Catalogue 1887, Nos. 13
•and 16). There are other interesting minor examples of the
milieu of Duccio, some of very high art quality, both in Sienna
■and Perugia. In the Bryan collection at the New York Histo-
rical Society a small Crucifixion attributed to Buffalmaco (No.
189), will introduce the American student to a technique and a
composition so close to Duccio's as to be quite representative of
the school in its minor examples. It is probably by an immedi-
ate predecessor, to judge by the comparative lack of refinement
in the treatment of the nude. The grouping is, in one passage,
that of the fainting Virgin, quite identical with that of Duccio in
the Crucifixion of his great Sienna altar-piece.
GIOTTESQUE PICTURES. — It is evident to the lover of xiv cen-
tury art, on entering the Jarves collection, that whatever be the
attributions given to its " Giottesque " panels, there are a number
which embody the characteristic qualities of Florentine Gothic
panel-painting. My conclusions as to their authorship are in
many cases destructive of the gallery ascriptions, though I have
seldom any better ones to offer.
There are twenty examples of so-called Giottesque painting in
the Jarves collection. Of these, No. 16 is too much repainted to
be characteristic, even if it be an original, and No. 21 is probably
spurious. The others are genuine, but a few are too insignificant
to call for comment
To Giotto himself is attributed an important "Entombment"
(No. 17), which is unfortunately a complete ruin. It does not rise
to the grandly passionate grief of the Arena masterpiece, but has
been an important example of a serious and early follower. The
piece cannot be analyzed technically in its present condition.
Another panel attributed to Giotto in New Haven is a small and
well-preserved "Crucifixion," probably the gable of an altar-piece
(No. 18, hung very high). The dry handling and the compara-
tive lack of breadth in the draperies indicate conclusively a later
authorship.
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 141
Earlier than either of the above, and possibly by Taddeo Gaddi,
to whom it is attributed, is a small " Vision of St. Dominic " (No. 20),
quite representative of the vigor and directness of the better Giot-
teschi. It is almost too cold in coloring for either Giotto or
Taddeo Gaddi, but the draperies and the action are tirst-rate.
In the early tradition again, and by some one working under
Giotto's direct influence, is a small tabernacle picture of the Ma-
donna and Child, attended by four saints, of charming quality,
attributed to Giottino (No. 31). A small "Trinity," attributed
to Puccio Capanna, is of the same general character, but is quite
ruined (No. 27).
An important "Christ and the Virgin Enthroned" (No. 5),
catalogued as of the beginning of the xin century, is an interesting
example, I believe, of an Orcagnesquc decadence. The types, the
treatment of the draperies, and the redundance of ornamental
accessories, recall certain panels attributed to Orcagna, such *is
the St. Zenobius of the Florence Duomo and others; but here all
the greatness of Orcagna is lost in the attempted realization of a
weakly coloristic ideal. It is probably of the school of Orcagna,
and for all its lack of early vigor, is a picture of great interest.4
There are two sets of panels of saints in the Jarves collection
ascribed to Orcagna himself. Of these the " St. John the Bap-
tist" and the "St. Peter" (Nos. 25 and 26), are darkened and
badly hung, and while strong, sturdy and serious enough for a
more direct Orcagnesque derivation than No. 5, above mentioned,
are rather too coarse for Andrea's own hand. Nos. 23 and 24,
" St. Augustine and St. Lucia," and " St. Dominic and St. Agnes,"
respectively, are weaker, but, being in better preservation, are
perhaps more interesting. The distinctly individual technique is,
I believe, that of an altar-piece in Santa Croce at Florence, in the
chapel to the left of the high altar; sharp, clear, precise in draw-
ing, with good color in single tones, but pallid and without
fusion, with an over-elaboration of ornament and with rather
painfully diminutive figures. An "Annunciation" of rather per-
functory quality, given to Pietro Cavallini (No. 19), seems evi-
dently a work of the last half of the xiv century.
4 It is described and engraved in Fumaoalli, Museo dl IHltura e Scultura delle
Qallerie d'Europa, vol. xin.
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142 WILLIAM RANKIN.
Less closely connected with Florence than those I have men-
tioned, and with some Siennese affectation, though heavy and dis-
tinctly in the Florentine tradition, is a large triptych (No. 22) of
considerable decorative quality and in good preservation. It re-
calls in the types and in feeling the panel of the Florence Acad-
emy which was the joint work of Spinello, Jacopo da Casentino
And Lorenzo di Xiccolo, but is more carefully executed. Still
another and more vigorous phase of Giottesque art is illustrated
in an important " Deposition" attributed to Antonio Veneziano (Xo.
37), and accepted by Crowe and Cavalcaselle as a representative
example of his style,5 of which a half-tone reproduction is here
given (Pl. vi). These critics, whose judgment of xiv century
panels is not often to be impugned, cite no other extant works of
Antonio on panel. The picture has a close correspondence with
the authenticated frescoes of the Pisan Campo Santo in general
handling, in " norms" and in the treatment of the draperies, as is
evident on a comparison of photographs. It is much cruder,
however, much more labored, and very muddy in tone, which
may be due in part to repaints; though I fancy its inferiority
may be explained by the difficulties inherent in a medium more
obstinate than that of the clear water-color which Antonio em-
ployed with such ease in the frescoes. The panel, for all its
intensity, is such an unpleasant performance, technically consid-
ered, that it hardly adds to Antonio's reputation.
Pictures of slight interest, assigned to an unknown painter
(No. 29), to Giottino (No. 32), to Angelo Gaddi (No. 28), to Spi-
nello Aretino (Nos. 33-34), to Jacopo da Casentino (No. 30), to
Lorenzo di Bicci (No. 36), and to Fra Angelico (No. 40, proba-
bly by one of the Bicci), may be passed without further notice,
with no loss to completeness of the survey.
sienna. — If we exclude the unimportant example of the Greco-
Italian School, ascribed to Duccio and mentioned above, the
earliest example of Siennese painting in the Jarves collection is
an u Assumption of the Virgin " (No. 35), very characteristic of
the symmetry and graceful affectation of the lesser xiv century
craftsmen. It is probably later in date than the Lorenzetti, to
5a Entirely in his manner." — Crowe and Cavalcaselle, Hint, of Hal. Paint.,
vol. I. p. 41U.
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 143
judge by its dry technique and an over-elaborateness in the orna-
ment carried out at the expense of higher art qualities.
An interesting " Epiphany," attributed to Simone Martini, but
later in date (Xo. 15), is not certainly Siennese, and I cannot place
it exactly. The lower part of the composition, a group of horses
in action, is well-preserved and very spirited and well-handled.
I may mention in passing ail insignificant panel ascribed to Sas-
setta (No. 48), as peculiar in the treatment of the landscape back-
ground with its yellow sky. Several small panels and fragments
from Predelle of Siennese altar-pieces of the early xv century may
also be noticed. No. 51, given to Giovanni di Paolo, is excel-
lent. That given to Sano di Pietro is characteristic, but inferior
to his best work in this line, which as genre is often delightful, as
is notably the case in the admirable little compositions of the
Louvre. Sano's altar-pieces in Sienna are numerous and well
known, but his works are seldom seen elsewhere. A small
" Coronation/' in excellent preservation (Xo. 50), is highly char-
acteristic and unusually good. As in the case of other Siennese
craftsmen who are quite uninfluenced by Florentine naturalism,
and whose conception of their art is that of the mediaeval minia-
turist, Sano's limitations are less obtrusive in his smaller panels.
The brilliancy of pure color in the Xew Haven example, of which
a reproduction is given on Pl. vti, renders the piece entirely
representative of the "Siennese Fra Angelieo."
A " Madonna and Child '' attended by two angels, attributed to
Matteo di Giovanni (Xo. 57), we have also reproduced from a
photograph (Pl. viii). A recent examination of the xv century
paintings in Sienna convinced me that this weakly-drawn but de-
lightfully-decorative panel belongs rather to Benvenuto di Gio-
vanni, whose manner may be easily recognized — in the types, the
treatment of the hands, the draperies, and the flat but clear and
coloristic tonality — as individual and distinct from that of Mat-
teo or other Siennese contemporaries.6
•Outside of Italy I have seen only two (or possibly three) examples of this mas-
ter. A Madonna and Child with Saints, in the London National Gallery (No.
909); a Madonna and Child with two Saints, in the Cologne Museum (No. 777),
which might, however, be by some other Siennese painter of the time, though not
by Bernadino Fungai, to whom it is ascribed ; and a Madonna and Child attended
by angels, exhibited in the loan collection of Religious Art, held in March and
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144 WILLIAM RANKIN.
I may close the list of Siennese pictures with the mention of
two examples of Sodoma, " A Madonna and Child" (No. 95), of
which I am not competent to judge, but which seems original,
though weakly painted in the hands ; and a " Christ Bearing the
Cross " (No. 94), which is entirely repainted. This latter may be
a copy, as also a Beccafiimi (No. 96), neither of which I have,,
however, examined with any attention.
UM BRIAN SCHOOL. — The Jarves collection possesses a valuable
signed example of one of the rarest of early xv century masters,.
Gentile da Fabriano — a " Madonna and Child " standing in a
Gothic niche (No. 39). The picture is cited by Crowe and Caval-
caselle as injured by restoration, but the repaints have been partly
removed, and the picture, while perhaps more interesting to the
historical student than to the general art-lover, is important enough
to have a bearing on various interesting questions which cluster
about the artist's manner and influence. A reproduction is given
(PI. ix) for purposes of comparison with other quite as unsatisfac-
tory Madonnas, such as those of the Louvre and the Berlin
Museum. It is to be regretted that the only known remaining
fresco by Gentile, the Madonna at Orvieto on a pier in the Duomo,
and the equally exquisite Madonna by his predecessor and presum-
able teacher, Lorenzo or Jacopo da San Severino, a fresco in the
Oratory of Saint John at Urbino, should be still unphotographed.
The catalogue ascribes to Fra Filippo Lippi a " St. Jerome in
the Desert" (No. 60), which is supposed to be the panel men-
tioned and highly praised by Vasari, which hung in the Guarda-
roba of Cosimo de Medici. Of this we also give a reproduction
(Pl. x), which hardly does justice to the original. Vasari
speaks of it in connection with the well-known " St. Augustine-
in his Study," of the Uffizi (No. 1179). The quality of the pic-
ture is so notably fine that it is worthy as complete a discussion
as would be required by the interesting series of questions con-
nected with the possibility of its identification with the Cosimo-
panel. I can only say here that it is obviously not by Lippi, but
rather a fine example of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, to judge by its
exact correspondence in "norms" and technique with Fiorenzo's
April, 1895, at Noe. 835-341 Fourth avenue, New York. This panel is owned by
Mr. James Ren wick, and is attributed to Fra Filippo Lippi. It belongs, however,
without a doubt, to Benvenuto, and is a good example.
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 145
St. Sebastian in the gallery at Perugia.7 There is a dramatic
vigor and unity in the handling of this picture, which, if it be
Vasari's "Lippo Lippi," is an ample justification of the Aretine's
enthusiasm. The picture is far above the average of Fiorenzo's
rather uneven performance, and perhaps indicates the influence
which he is supposed to have received from Florentine metal-
workers. The landscape is Ghirlandesque, but with Ghirlandajo
the figure is never so nervously handled.8
Signorelli is represented by a small " Presepio," probably part
of a predella (No. 67), of the broadest treatment, parallel to that
of his masterly church-standards at CittA di Castello and Urbino.
and in quite perfect condition — a prize indeed for any collection,
A fine " Holy Family " (No. 90), by Lo Spagna, is thoroughly
representative, I should say, while the Perugino of the collection
(No. 70) is of no quality beyond that of the weakest of numerous
xvi century school pieces. A decorated salver of great interest,
wrongly attributed to Pinturricchio, is mentioned below as of the
Florentine School. Attributed, no doubt correctly, to Francesco
Francia, is a " Portrait of the Princess Vitelli " of notable quality.
It has been reproduced in Scribner's Magazine, I believe, from a
drawing by Blum, but I am unfortunately unable to give the
exact reference.
FLORENCE. THE EARLY RENAISSANCE. — Beginning with the Ren-
aissance movement in Florence, we find a large mass of material
illustrative of painting on its industrial side, as used in the decor-
ation of articles of household furniture — cassoni, deschi da parto,
7 Catalogue of 1887, Cabinet 9 of Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, No. 11, photographed by
Alinari [No. 5652).
8 The picture is n )t fairly represented in the half-tone reproduction. It is nota-
ble for a somewhat sombre and yet vibrant tonality, in no sense coloristic, yet quite
free from violence. The feeling for structure is a natural expression of a plastic
ideal ; the lights and darks reinforced, crag by crag,, sky by water, with great sub-
tlety but no refinement of detail, being thus plastic and subordinate to the figure
rather than independently pictorial as in many Florentine backgrounds. The gen-
eral color scheme is in greys and greens. The flesh tint* are green in the body color,
the modelling carried on with reddish glazes, and with extreme high lights boldly
laid on, giving a result of little fusing and mannered, but adequate and in vigor
easily above the ordinary Umbrian or Florentine standard, and suggestive of Paduan
or Paduan- Ferrarese influence. Marked mannerisms are apparent in the reproduc-
tion. The panel has been retouched in a few places but is essentially intact.
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146 WILLI A M RA NKIN.
and the like, some of which are of quite early date, and many of
which show the influence and some the hand of well-known
painters.
All of this work is more or less interesting aa illustrative of
Renaissance feeling. It is notably decorative, though usually in-
ferior in execution to the better Predella pieces of the period.
Paolo Uccello, Domenico Veneziano, Dello Delli, the family of
the Peselli and Piero di Cosimo are those who, as a rule, divide
the responsibility for these productions in gallery catalogues.
There are some fine examples in London (in the National Gal-
lery) of extra-Florentine origin ; notably those attributed to Pin-
turricchio and one given to Domenico Morone of Verona. Piero
di Cosimo has done a number' which have been identified, and
others have been given confidently to Francesco Pesello, but the
great mass of examples of Florentine origin have not as yet been
■critically studied. The New Haven gallery includes six quite
characteristic examples of this delightful art, of which one given
to Piero di Cosimo (Xo. 82, hung very high) seemed fairly char-
acteristic of that master on a rapid examination, while several of
the others ottered marked divergencies from the manner of the
artists to which they were attributed. Fine as is the scene attri-
buted to Piero della Francesca (Xo. 69), in its color and grouping
and decorative feeling, it has not his types or color scheme,
and the execution is too feeble for Piero, who is quite invariably
careful and refined in touch in his panel pieces. The picture be-
longs to that higher class of early Florentine Cassone pieces which
are often associated with the name of Dello Delli. It has some
correspondence with Dello's decorations in the cloister of Santa
Maria Novella at Florence, but as we know nothing definite of
Dello's technique on panel, it would be rash to ascribe this to his
hand. The two lively panels attributed to Uccello (Xos. 43 and
44, from the same mssoite), and the very interesting tournament
scene ascribed to Dello (Xo. 45), are good examples of much the
same period and class of work. I may mention here that to
Dello also is ascribed an interesting little St. Martin (Xo. 46), in
which the gold work is notably pleasing. The piece is, I should
say, by an earlier hand.
Of higher interest, perhaps, than the others is the allegorical
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 147
panel given mistakenly to Gentile da Fabriano (No. 38). It re-
flects the literary spirit of the Renaissance, and seems not to be by
a first-rate hand, but to reproduce types already accepted, and
which are, even in the paraphrase of a weaker executant, very
beautiful and distinctly Florentine. It is probably as early as
Masolino, with whose work it has some correspondence. It has
the traditional portraits of Dante and others, with other distinctly
Florentine types which are often repeated in the composition.
The exquisitely painted salver attributed to Pinturricchio (No.
71) is an example of industrial art of which I remember no exact
prototype, and I am not able to suggest its derivation, though I pre-
sume it to be like all the others, purely Florentine. An illustration
is published (PI. xi) in the hop^ that a more certain and more
definite attribution may be suggested by same special student of
the industrial painting of the Renaissance.9 These Cassone pieces
at New Haven are entirely characteristic examples of their kind ;
the story-telling is never dull, the costumes are quaint and rich,
and the color glows undimmed by restoration. In this connec-
tion I may mention an insignificant panel depicting a scene from
the legend of St. Nicholas, ascribed to Neri di Bicci (So. G2),
which shows an early bit of nature study in the nude, and sug-
gests, perhaps, something of a hypothetical movement toward the
art of certain paintings attributed to the Peselli.
We return to a more serious art with a panel attributed to
Masaccio, "The Infancy of St. John the Baptist" (Xo. 42), which
is of considerable interest for the original treatment of the sub-
ject and for the sweep of the background composition. It seems
to be of Masaccio \s time and tendency.
With a " Madonna Adoring the Child," ascribed to Masolino
(Xo. 41, tabernacle piece), we seem to meet the influence of Fra
Filippo Lippi, reflected, I believe, in the charming feeling of some
minor scholar. Contrast this quite second-rate but self-poised
9 The pan^l is 26 inches in diameter, p.iinted in transparent and s-ubtly fused tem-
pera, the values well understood and the landscape distance atmospheric and justly
subordinated. Maroons, greys and quiet greens predominate. The rocks in warm
greys, with delicious pinks in the draperies and blonde hair for all the figures. The
sleeves of the female figure to the left of the u Amor," and the robe of the figure
with a cord, are stamped on gold. The wings of the " Amor " are pink, with some
gold work.
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148 WILLIAM RANKIN
and individualistic art with what no doubt, at first sight of the
collection, may pass for its greatest picture, the Madonna of the
school of Botticelli (No. 74). The poor apprentice whose duty it
was to trace from the cartoon Botticelli's outline, did not enjoy
his art half as well, I fancy, as the naive painter of the tabernacle
piece above alluded to. The picture is pleasing, but Botticelli
never did such hard outlines or such feeble hands. A better
known assistant of Lippo's, Fra Diamante, is represented here by
a characteristically weak example. The inadequate modelling
and general lifelessness of the fijures is partly redeemed, how-
ever, by a finely decorative treatment of the rose-hedge back-
ground.
An " Annunciation," presumably the lunette of an important
altarpiece, is attributed to Pietro Pollajuolo, with whom it has
nothing in common (No. 65, 50 by 11 inches). It is remarkable for
its crisp and light tonality, for the ably and freely drawn mono-
chrome classic basreliefs on the parapet in the middle distance,
and especially for a masterly though completely subordinated
landscape, which is discovered through the opening in the para-
pet. The principal figures are so much weaker as to suggest a
less vigorous hand. The picture has a close affinity, especially in
the leafage and general color scheme, to the panels in the Casa
Buonarotti, attributed by Vasari and all critics to Francesco
Peselli, but which show certain features of divergence from the
style of Francesco, and it seems to me may not be by his hand.
The New Haven Annunciation must be considered in discussing
the vexed questions which beset the student of the Peselli in their
relations to Fra Angelico (see the undoubted and very beautiful
examples of Francesco in the Doria Gallery), Lippo Lippi, Bal-
dovinetti and others, but the exact bearing of the piece I am not
able to discuss at present, nor dare I assert positively its connec-
tion with the author of the Casa Buonarotti panels.
Antonio Pollajuolo is represented by a work that must have
once been one of his most pleasing creations, the " Hercules kill-
ing Nessus" (No. 64). The landscape especially, a view of Flor-
ence and the Arno Valley from Signa, must have been delightful.
The picture is ruined by repainting and cannot adequately be
here reproduced.
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 149
A genuine Fillippino Lipp. (No* 81), the " Crucifixion," may be
compared with a panel of the same subject at Berlin.10 A small
"Crucifixion," attributed to Lorenzo Di Credi, of very good qual-
ity, does not belong to his early manner, and may not be by his
hand. A " Madonna," not above the executive ability of an
apprentice, is given to Cosimo Roselli (No. 72). Below Fra
Bartholomeo, yet of considerable force despite its distressing re-
paints, is a large " Pieta," ascribed to the frate (No. 86).»
An important altar-piece of the xvi century, ascribed to Ridolfo
Ghirlandajo (No. 97), is also much injured by repainting, and yet
leaves an impression of high and serious art quality. It may
be compared with an Albertinelli in the Florence Academy
No. 70; Alinari, No. 1383), but might easily be by Ridolfo. A
reproduction is (PI. xn) given for the assistance of those who
have paid especial attention to the period. I am not able to give
an accurate account of its condition or technique.
A fresco (transferred to canvas) of a " Madonna and Child,"
ascribed to Andrea Del Sarto (No. 92), now almost entirely oblit-
erated, reminds me of Barocci. Pictures of some quality, orig-
inal or other, ascribed to Franciabigio (No. 91, much darkened),
to Albertinelli (No. 87), to Pontormo (No. 99), to Raphael (No.
89), I have not examined, and I cannot express an opinion as
to the authorship of the important but in part repainted Annun-
ciation attributed to Benozzo Gozzoli (No. 63).
northern Italy. — Mantegna's name appears as sponsor for a
weak "Crucifixion" of the Florentine school (No. 56), but for
his influence, or that of the movement of which he is chief, we
may well turn to a "Nativity" of curious interest ascribed to
Squarcione (No. 55), which approaches very nearly in manner the
miniatures of Girolamo da Cremona in the Cathedral Library at
Sienna and may be by his hand, though I am not acquainted
with any pictures by that artist, who is in his miniatures closely
related to Liberale of Verona.
A " St. Sebastian," attributed to Cottignola (No. 98), has very
little value in its present condition, and does not resemble the
artist's treatment of the same subject in the Ferrara Atheneo.
Few of the Venetian pictures in the Jarves collection are char-
10 A St. Sebastian ascribed to him (No. 80), has none of his marked characteris-
tics, and is of little importance.
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1 50 WILLI A M RA NKIN.
acteristic of what we associate with Venice. There are several
specimens of the work of scholars or imitators of Giovanni Bel-
lini, all more or less repainted. The "Bellini" (Xo. 75) is an
original example of some xvi century imitator. It is dry and
Bergamesque in color and is not representative of the better class
of school work. A probable Bissolo, once fine but now cruelly
repainted, is classed as a Basaiti (Xo. 79). Ascribed to Giorgi-
one is a small "Circumcision" (Xo 77), in which there is proba-
bly not a square millimetre of the original color remaining. It
strongly recalls the Louvre "Holy Family" attributed to Giorgi-
one, and given by Crowe and Cavalcaselle to Pellegrino di San
Daniele, but is abler in composition, and was perhaps once a Gior-
gione. Even in its present condition it has somehow an inde-
scribable charm. It has no connection with the Bellini of Castle
Howard (the " Circumcision "), the composition of which is so
often repeated in school copies.
I cannot discuss all the examples of high Renaissance painting
of the Xorth Italian and other schools in the Jarves collection,
but may mention in conclusion a portrait attributed to Sebastiano
del Piombo (Xo. 104). In connection with a portrait ascribed to
Jacopo da Ponte (Bassano) the editor of the catalogue speaks of
that great technican as " an inferior painter." Velasquez had a
different opinion.
The general character of the Jarves collection may be inferred
from the above notes, which are intended to include everything
of importance to the end of the early Renaissance period. My
estimate, however it may err in detail, is, I am confident, fairly
just in perspective. Estimated as exhaustively representative on
the historical side, even the greatest collections are misleading ;
over-estimation of single works is likewise to be guarded against.
To make a Raphael out of an Eusebio, is to steal that which does
not enrich the one and leaves the other poor indeed. After all,
it is not the name which a picture bears which should measure its
capacity for instruction. It would be profitable for us to care
less about proving our Gothic altar-pieces Giottos and more about
their interpretation as records of mediaeval sentiment and thought.
It may be said that the Jarves collection is made up, with per-
haps the exception of one masterpiece, the " Jerome " attributed
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EARLY ITALIAN PICTURES IN THE JARVES COLLECTION. 151
to Lippi, of the minor works of minor men, and includes much
that is more interesting to the amateur in ascriptions than to the
general art public. There are a number of examples of rather
rare Italian artists not of the first rank. The collection is espe-
cially rich in xiv century panel-pieces and in the industrial art of
the early Renaissance. Some of the pictures have suffered from
restoration, but the larger number have been preserved from this
destructive mania by the modesty of their pretensions and the in-
telligence of their custodians. It is desirable that the collection
should be better known and subjected to a more exhaustive his-
torical criticism than I am able to offer. Given a complete colla-
tion of all extant original examples of early Italian painting,
which will only be physically possible with the aid of complete
photographic records, I believe it will be quite possible to extend
the boundaries of our knowledge far more widely and to ground
it upon a more scientific foundation than has yet been attempted.
The "New connoisseurship " should bestir itself to the end of
getting its material recorded, Morellian norms and all, and then
an exhaustive criticism of our American examples will be a pos-
sibility.
Perhaps the most useful function of such minor collections as
we are fortunate enough to possess in America, is as forming
nuclei for libraries or museums of reproductive material, espe-
cially of photographic records, the limitations of which on their
merely artistic side at least, might be compensated by the actual
presence of original examples of art. The almost complete lack
of such illustrative material in American libraries, which is
especially noticeable in the matter of painting, is a handicap to
the intelligent study of the history of art.
Princeton, X. J., William Rankin.
April, 1895.
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NOTES ON BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN
ITALY AND ESPECIALLY IN ROME.
[Tlates XIII, XIV, XV.]
In a recent number of the Journal l I published whatever evi-
dence had come to my notice of the presence of Byzantine artists
in Italy during the Middle Ages, evidence based on artists' signa-
tures and on literary sources, without reference to style. I then
expressed the belief that such evidence could never prove entirely
satisfactory, because the custom of signing their works was not
prevalent among Byzantine artists, especially during the early
part of the Middle Ages, and because the literary evidence ap-
pears to be extremely scanty. The two other methods employed
to ascertain whether a work of mediaeval art is or is not Byzantine
in character have been: (1) the comparative study of Eastern and
Western iconography, extremely important but still in its infancy;
(2) a judgment based upon artistic style — a method still charged
with the personal equation, and rendered extremely insecure from
the general lack of a clear acquaintance with the real character,
the variations and the limits of the Byzantine style.2 A founda-
tion for this acquaintance must be laid through the combined
study of all the branches of Byzantine civilization that are funda-
mentally connected with the Fine Arts ; s and this means much
l. A. J. A., IX, pp. 82-52 : Byzantine Artists in Italy from the VI to the XV cent.
* A good example of the insufficiency of this method is the discussion that has
taken place regarding the frescoes of the xi century in S. Angelo in Formis near
Capua. According to Kraus — the foremost German authority on Christian Archae-
ology— these frescoes mark the close of "Western Carlo vingian art as contrasted to
Byzantine, and he compares them to the frescoes at Reichenau (Jahrb. d. k. preuss.
Kunstsamml., Bd. xrv, Heft 1-3). Carl Frey, on the contrary, sees in the S.
Angelo frescoes the work of the pure Byzantine school (Deutsches Woehenblatt^
Oct. 12 and 19, 1893) ; so does Ed. Dobbert, in the Repert.f. Kunstwiss, 1892.
8 An excellent Byzantine bibliography is given by Krumbacher in his Gesch-
ichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (Munich, 1891), on pp. 27-32.
152
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE XIII.
MOSAIC PAVEMENT AT IVIRON, MT. ATHOS.
(c. 976 A. D.)
II. MOSAIC SLAB AT S. PRASSEDE, ROME.
(XII Century.)
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 153
because in no other civilization was art so closely linked with
theological ideas and dogmas and with current and popular tra-
ditions and beliefs ; in none other was it so universal a means of
instruction for all classes.1 And then there is needed the publi-
cation of a corpus of undoubted Byzantine examples. To a stu-
dent of the Middle Ages it is of extreme importance to under-
stand what influence Byzantium exercised upon the West during
its formative period, between the seventh and the eleventh cen-
turies, when its civilization, complete, brilliant, and pervasive,
was as a beacon to the crude and groping West, and was the only
great centre of inspiration, although it was often antagonized and
reviled.
The study of Byzantine influence in Italy, which I made in
connection with the article mentioned above, has led to the pub-
lication of these notes. If they are largely beyond the strictly
artistic and archaeological pale, this seemed required by objections
such as that recently made by Professor Springer,5 that Byzan-
tine art could not become acclimated in the West, because no-
where could it find congenial surroundings — in religious and
social institutions, in language and customs. Such a judgment
leads him to the conclusion that for the West there is really no
Byzantine question at all, no radical, permanent and general, but
only an ephemeral, superficial and extremely restricted influence,
in the development of Europe. My main object is to examine
into the correctness of this opinion in so far as it relates to Italy ;
and the conclusion that I have reached is that the debt to Byzan-
tium is undoubtedly immense : in fact, the difficulty consists in
ascertaining what amount of originality can properly be claimed
for the Western arts, industries and institutions during the Early
Middle Ages, and how strongly the later and more original
development of the xn, xm and xiv centuries continued to de-
pend upon these Byzantine artistic principles, ideas and forms.
One is still obliged, in dealing with Byzantine civilization, to
fight against an accumulated popular inheritance of ignorant pre-
judice unique in history, a relic of the hatred of the Mediaeval
* Cf. my article in the Presbyterian Review (April, 1890), on The Relation of
-Christian Art to Theology.
5 Introduction to Kondakoff, Histoire de V Art Byzantin, vol. I.
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154 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
West, which outdid the exploits of the barbarous hordes that
sacked Rome, when in 1204 it laid its lustful hands on Constan-
tinople, and after destroying, vilified its victim.6
Were archaeologists better acquainted with the facts made
public of recent years by students of Byzantine history,7 to whom
we owe the present reaction, they would realize that the East,
after suffering a temporary eclipse during the seventh and
eighth century, entered into a period of new life, which lasted,,
roughly speaking, for two centuries. This period of the ix, x
and early xi centuries saw a development of Byzantine institu-
tions and art fully equalling that of the period of Justinian, under
some of the finest rulers of mediaeval history, able administrators
and generals, who recovered for the empire many of her lost
provinces in Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Africa and Italy, de-
feating the Bulgarians and Slavs, the Mohammedans, Franks and
Germans.8 It was natural that a reaction should follow, and that
the decadence of the xn century should lead up to the disaster of
1204. The prejudice against Byzantine art is due partly to the
6 What a comment it is on the traditional cowardice of the Byzantines to com-
pare the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, Baldwin of Flanders, on the one side,
fleeing precipitately with all his followers, without striking a blow, when the Byzan-
tine General Strategopoulos entered Constantinople in 1261, with, on the other side,
the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantino, fighting hopelessly, he and his handful,
against the countless Turkish battalions, and falling at the breach. And he was no-
exception, but simply followed the traditions of his predecessors, those great warrior
emperors of the ix and x centuries. What a contrast it is to compare Constantino-
ple, the glorious mother of mediaeval art and civilization, as she was when taken by
the Crusaders in 1204, and looked upon by them mainly in the light of the greatest
looting-place in the world, to be pitilessly sacked and ruined, with the Constantino-
ple of 1261, when the Greeks returned to find its bronze statues and even its metal
church coverings melted for coin, its marbles used for mortar, its churches torn down
to use their wooden beams for firewood. Not a finger raised during sixty years by
its Latin occupiers for anything but destruction.
7 General histories by Finlay, Thierry, Paparregopoulos : Hodokin, Italy
and her Invaders; Rambaud, L' Empire Grec au dixieme siicle ; Schlumberoer,
Un Empereur Byzantin au dixieme sicclc; Lbnormant, La Grande Grice; Armin-
gaud, Venise et le Baa empire ; Lentz, Das Verhaltniss Venedigs zu Byzanz ; Hart-
mann, Byzantinische Verwaltung in Italien; Diehl, L administration Byzantine
dans Vexarehat de Ravenne; Harnack, Das Karolingische und das Byzantinische
Reich, etc.; Gasquet, J&tudes Byzantines; etc., etc. Further material can be found
in Krumbacher's list, op. cit.
8 Consult the works of Rambaud, Schlumberger and others, referred to in the-
preceding note.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 155
fact a great majority of the works attributed to it in the West
belong to the decadence of the xn and xm centuries, and that
the worst of these are not by Byzantine artists, but by inferior
Western imitators.9
ITALY AND BYZANTIUM.
Prof. Springer's discussion of the Byzantine question, in his
introduction to Kondakoff 's recent Histoire de VArt Byzantin, may
be taken as a fair statement of a large class of art critics, and I
shall consequently take it as my text. His opinion is that Byzan-
tine influence overstepped its normal limits only under excep-
tional circumstances, and that the predominance of Byzantine
elements in certain parts of the West during the Early Middle
Ages, supposes local artistic powerlessness and stagnation (p. 16).
He denies (p. 19) that, up to the close of the x century, any for-
eign (i. e., Byzantine) influences were felt except in the portions
of Southern Italy that were dependencies of the Byzantine em-
pire. For the Romanesque (xi-xii cent), as well as for the Car-
lovingian period, any Byzantine influence in architecture, sculp-
ture or painting is denied ; and it is asserted that the better one
ebcomes acquainted with .Byzantine art the more it is seen to be
local, like the art of any other people; and Springer finally goes
so far as to assert that/or the West there is really no Byzantine ques-
tion at all. In his opinion, " The existence of Byzantine art sup-
poses certain special conditions : when these are wanting the soil
is not propitious to its growth. General impressions or a mere
resemblance of technical processes are not sufficient to favor its
development." The legend of Greek monks fleeing from the
Iconoclasts is not convincing ; for permanent and not transient
and casual causes are required. Byzantine art can reign only
where it can be understood, and where the customs and especially
the ecclesiastical institutions are in harmony with its aspirations.
9 This refers mainly to Italy. All Italian painting during the xn and xm cen-
turies, with either Byzantine or Italo-Byzantine, and the works of such men as the
Berlinghieri, Margaritone and other men, especially of the Pisan and Lucchese
schools, are instances of how low painting could sink. Byzantine artists would
have despised such works, even during the period of their own decadence. The
6ame was the case with many of the earlier mosaics in Home during the vn, viii
and ix centuries.
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156 A. L. FROTHINOHAM, JR.
In such cases its influence will be general. But even where the
Greek language was current and its civilization dominant, Byzan-
tine influence was unable to maintain itself in an enduring way.
In Sicily it was thrown off soon after the Arab yoke was removed,
etc. The gist of the above synopsis of Prof. Springer's opinion is
that Byzantine art could flourish only in congenial surroundings,
and that such surroundings wrere never really permanent or natu-
ral in the West. He grants that they existed for a time in
Venice, in Sicily, and in Southern Italy, but he minimises his
admission by asserting the absolute isolation of Venice, and by
claiming that in Sicily the Byzantine yoke was thrown off as
soon as the Norman conquest had restored initiative and freedom.
Before studying Byzantinism in Rome, which is the main ob-
ject of this paper, it may be well to test the accuracy of this judg-
ment of Springer by a brief review of the connection of the other
parts of Italy with Byzantium. Of course in doing this many
facts must be mentioned that are known, but the picture would
be otherwise incomplete. The subject itself can be treated only
suggestively in so limited a compass, and many proofs must
be omitted. Perhaps, on the wray, an answer can be found to
these questions: (1) Were there in Italy, at any time, centres
where the different phases of civilization were favorable to a
development of Byzantine art? (2) Is the legend of Greek
monks coming to Italy not convincing, and are they to be re-
garded as a merely transient or as an integral factor ? (3) Does
not Professor Springer confound two distinct factors — Byzantine
art proper and Byzantine influence on Western art ?
A certain Oriental element can be found in parts of Italy, and
especially at Ravenna, during the iv and v centuries, but the
main influx began with the conquest under Justinian in the vi
century. Shortly after the close of the Gothic wars (535-553),
by which Belisarius and Narses had re-annexed Italy to the Ro-
man Empire of the East, the entire peninsula as well as Sicily
came to be governed by a Byzantine exarch, the emperor's vice-
roy, under whom were the dukes, niagistri militum, consuls and
turmarchs of the different provinces, and a well-organized hier-
archy of Byzantine military and civil functionaries. The first
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 157
break came, almost immediately, with the Lombard invasion,
which wrested a large part of the peninsula from Byzantine rule ;
the second was brought about by the policy of the Iconoclastic
emperors,10 which led to enmity between Rome and Byzantium
and the schism of the two churches, consummated in 789 ; the
final blow came in the capture of Ravenna — the capital of Italy—
by the Lombards in 753. Here ended the first wave of Byzan-
tine influence, which had exercised but little artistic power after
the middle of the vn century, except in Rome, for this century
was one of decadence throughout the Orient. Then, at the very
moment when the rise of the Frankish empire menaced the West-
ern provinces of Byzantium, the crisis raised up, as it so often
does, men equal to the great emergency : such men as Basil the
Macedonian, and, later, Xikephorus Phokas and John Zimiskes.
At this time the supremacy over Venice was strengthened, Sicily
reconquered, and a great part of Southern Italy colonized by
Greeks. After the xi century, when the Eastern empire lost
irrecoverably all its Italian possessions, Byzantine influence was
perpetuated in two ways : (1) through commerce carried on by
the great maritime cities — Venice, Genoa, Pisa ; (2) by the con-
servative character of the Byzantine colonies, especially in the
South, which perpetuated for several centuries the various ele-
ments of Byzantine culture; (3) through emigration.
Byzantinism in Italy naturally falls into five sections, which
taken together form a network extending without a break from
the v to the xni centuries, during which time a considerable
portion of the peninsula was more or less dependent upon Byzan-
tium. Ravenna illustrates this fact very fully from the v to the
vn centuries, the picture being completed by secondary monu-
ments extending from the cities of Istria to Rome and Capua.
Then follows Rome, a refuge for Greeks during the Iconoclastic
period, and full of monuments by their hands belonging to the
vu, viii and ix centuries. At the close of their activity in Rome,
Southern Italy raised the Byzantine standard when Calabria and
Apulia were colonized in the ix and x centuries by the Byzan-
tine emperors and from Sicily, and at the other end of Italy, the
people of Venice adopted Byzantium as the norm-giver of their
10 All Italy rose against Leo the Isaurian between 726 and 780.
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158 A. L. FROTHING HAM, JR.
civilization when it began so greatly to expand at the close of the
x century. Both Venice and Calabria were far more Greek than
Italian. Finally, the last and best known display of the Byzan-
tine artistic style in Italy is in the mosaics of the xi, xn and xin
centuries in Sicily, Rome, Venice and elsewhere, by which the
art of painting was re-founded under the direction of Byzantine
iconography and style.
I shall study these phases successively, beginning with Ravenna.
RAVENNA.
After the partition of the empire, during the closing years of the
iv century, while Rome lapsed to the rank of a provincial city,
Ravenna became the Western capital, and preserved this rank,
with ever-waning power, until the final overthrow of Byzantine
rule in 752. Had it been the seat of a rising power, it might
have become the Queen of the Seas, taking the place afterwards
held by Venice. As a unit in the problem before us, it is of the
utmost importance. Already in the v century it was far more
Greek than Italian. After the Byzantine reconquest in the vi
century, it was the first to become thoroughly impregnated with
the new civilization then taking form in Constantinople. This
was to be expected, as the city was soon filled with Eastern
traders, and with Byzantine troops and functionaries, becoming
the principal bond between East and West. As Bayet and
Diehl11 have already remarked, if we wish to understand what
Byzantine art was from the v to the vn centuries, it is not to the
East that we must go, but to Ravenna, for the entire Orient could
hardly furnish such a series as exists in Ravenna alone. The
monuments are merely a tangible sign of a general condition, for
it appears certain that a large part of the population, the majority
of its early archbishops and of its clergy were of Greek nation-
ality or descent, and its ecclesiastical relations were quite as close
with Constantinople as with Rome. The city had a Greek asso-
ciation or Schola Grceca, which must have been formed, as it was
in Rome, of Greek inhabitants, of which there were large nura-
11 Diehl, Ravenne ; etudes d'archeologie byzantine: Bayet, Rec her ches pour set-
vir a Vhistoire de la peinture et de la sculpture chretiennes en Orient, and his later
work, VArt Byzantin.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 159
bers, especially in the large suburb of Classe, the port of the city.
There are many proofs of the general use of the Greek language :
the church of Ravenna was called allocephalis on account of its
claim to be independent of Rome : its cathedral, when built late
in the iv century, received the name agios Anastasios — Church of
the Holy Resurrection : the archbishops appear to have received
their surnames invariably in Greek. The city contained a num-
ber of monasteries of Greek monks, notably those of S. Maria ad
Blachernas and S. Maria in Cosmedin. The abbot or higoumen
of the latter monastery had the historic privilege of placing the
mitre on the head of every new archbishop in the great basilica
of S. Lorenzo in Cesarea, to which a Greek monastery was also
attached. We must believe that Ravenna received extensive
Greek and Eastern colonization at two periods: one considerably
before, the other during the Byzantine occupation. Ravenna ex-
ercised a strong Greecizing influence over a large territory while
it was the residence of the Byzantine exarchs. Its immediate
territory was bounded by Venice on the north, by the fluctuating
Lombard and Roman frontiers on the west and south ; but its
artistic influence — always purely Byzantine — had an even wider
scope. To it we may attribute the wide spread of the peculiar
style of Byzantine decoration in low relief which began to prevail
at the close of the vi century over the entire peninsula, and
which, with modifications due to artistic rise and fall and to the
different nationality of the artists — whether Byzantines or Ital-
ians— held sway in Italy until the xi century. A fuller discus-
sion of this fact will appear in connection with Byzantine art in
Rome. Except for a few barbarous Lombard attempts, and for
the continuation of the Latin form of the Roman basilica in cer-
tain provinces, all the branches of the Fine Arts in Italy appear
to have been in the Byzantine style or in imitation of it from the
vi to the x centuries.
VENICE.
I shall merely consider two points : the degree of Byzantinism
and the reality of the isolation of Venice. After having at the
very beginning (vi century) proved to Belisarius, Narses, and
Longinus their fidelity to the empire — which always remained
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160 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
for them the Roman empire — it would seem as if, first through
real dependence as well as sympathy, and then from self-interest,
Venice remained up to the xi century a consistent and more or
less actual subject of the Byzantine empire. Venice owed her exist-
ence, her development and her power to the protection and privi-
leges granted by the emperors of Constantinople. She should be
regarded rather as an Eastern sentinel on Western shores than
as part of the West. When Pepin, the son of Charlemagne,
attacked the Venetians, in 805, because of their fidelity to Byzan-
tium, and threatened their very existence, their reply was : " It is
not to thee but to the Emperor of the Romans that we wish to
belong." Venice would not have been one of the great mediae-
val powers had Byzantium not covered her with her protecting
aegis, encouraged her commerce by the granting of special privi-
leges, given her the investiture of Dalmatia, the possession of
which, at the close of the x century, made her queen of the Adri-
atic; and finally, by the golden bull of Alexis I. in 1082, in
recompense for help against the Xormans, placed her in posses-
sion of the entire commerce of the East. During the first five
centuries of Venetian history (vi-x) we find that whenever Byzan-
tium wished it she exercised unquestioned power over Venetian
affairs ; requiring Venetian fleets and troops for expeditions from
the time when they were used to recover Ravenna from the Lom-
bards, in about 740, until they took so important a part in
defeating the bold attacks of the Normans on the empire of
the East in 1081 and again in 1147-9, — the intervening expe-
ditions being either against the " Saracens " or the Franks and
Germans. It is true that a distinct difference is to be noted
between the beginning and the close of this period, and that
while from the vi century up to the early part of the ix Ven-
ice was an essential part of the Byzantine empire; after that
time her dependence was really nominal. The doges, almost
without exception, during the entire period, received from the
Byzantine emperors some title making them members of the
hierarchy of the Eastern Court, and this title appears by many of
them to have been held in higher esteem than that of doge.12 It
"This would appear to be shown by a number of contemporary documents,
where in some cases the Byzantine title is placed first, before that of Venetian doge,
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 161
was also the custom for the doge, shortly after his election, to
send his son or brother to Constantinople, or to go in person, to
assure the emperor of his fidelity. Sometimes the son remained
for quite a period in the imperial city, and as the dogeship, with
its association of son with father, in imitation of imperial usager
was virtually hereditary during a large part of this period, it
is easy to understand how this Amiliarity with Byzantium gained
by the heir presumptive served to strengthen the bonds that
linked Venice to dip East. It is significant that the early doges
whose rule marked the greatest advances in Venetian power, the
Galbai, the Partecipazi and the Orseoli, were thorough partisans
of Byzantium. Even the Franks, while they tried to annex
Venice, recognized her dependence on the Eastern empire. Egin-
hard, in his annals for the year 811, referring to the destitution
and captivity of doge Obelerius at the hands of the Byzantine
envoy Arsaphius, on account of his treachery, says : Propter perji-
diam honore spoliatus Constantinopolim ad dominion sioon daci hibe-
tur. This very unopposed deposition of doges Obelerius and
Beatus by Arsaphius, who came from Constantinople at the head
of a Byzantine fleet, and the election of a doge agreeable to the
emperor, is certainly a striking instance of this dependence. The
various titles accorded to the doges by the emperors were : hypa-
tos, protospatharios, protosebastos, patricius, proedros, protoproe-
dros. Of these the earliest was that of consul or hypatos, and the
most frequently used that of protosebastos. It is interesting to
note that when, in the xn century, Venice and the Empire- had
passed from friendship to distrust and enmity, the doges de-
manded and obtained that the rank of protosecas'os should be a
perpetual appanage of the dogeship.
Even at an early date Byzantine influence was current in
Venetian ecclesiastical spheres. After the patriarchate had been
removed from Aquilea to Grado, in consequence of the invasions,
the man who established it upon a firm basis, and was one of the
greatest administrators and builders that ever occupied the see,
was a Greek, Elias, who built (c. 550) the churches still standing
and in other cases the Byzantine title alone is given. Consult Tafel and Thomas,
Fontes rerum Austriacarum^ Abth. n, Bd. xn, Theil. I ; Gloria, Monumenti
Storici, vol. II, Cod. diplom. Padovano ; Romanin, Storia documentaia di Vevezia.
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162 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
in Grado. Shortly after the establishment of the new Venetian
bishopric of Olivolo, in the vin century, it was occupied by two
Greeks, both named Christopher.
The mass of the people always showed their sympathy for the
Eastern empire as against Lombards and Franks. The Vene-
tians adopted the Greek costume and manners, and this went so
far that they were often by Franks and Slavs, and even by Popes,
confounded with the Greeks. The doge, the nobles, the women,
all dressed after the Oriental fashion. Not only was the city full
of Greeks, but all the products of the East were accumulated in
its warehouses and palaces. Its churches were consecrated to
Eastern saints, and the city itself was under the patronage of the
famous Greek saint, Theodore, until the ix century, when he was
superseded by S. Mark. Its nobles intermarried with Greek
ladies. Hardly a citizen but had travelled on Venetian vessels to
the Eastern ports, and especially to Constantinople, and being
familiar with its monuments, its luxury, its reiined and highly-
organized civilization, held that of the West cheap in compari-
son, and were glad that they had escaped the feudal anarchy that
had overwhelmed every other corner of Europe. The Venetians
lived really as much in the East as at home. In the xn century
there was hardly a town of any size, and certainly not a seaport,
where the Venetians did not have a colony owning a street and a
church, and governed according to its own laws by its own magis-
trates— bails or consuls. This was the case throughout the By-
zantine Empire in Europe and Asia, from Dalmatia to Asia
Minor and the ports of the Black Sea, and throughout the new
and ephemeral domain of the Crusaders in Syria and Palestine.
In Constantinople alone there were ten thousand resident Vene-
tians— rich and haughty. Twenty thousand Venetians are re-
ported as having gone to the East to trade during the year 1171,
when Manuel Komnenos ordered the imprisonment of all the
Venetians in the empire. The colonies reached at times such
importance as to necessitate the creation of a diocese with a
bishop appointed by the patriarch of Grado, and also led to the
foundation of monasteries.
Owing to the fact that no history of the Greek colony auterior
to 1204 has been attempted, it is not easy to ascertain how much
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 163
Greek blood flowed in Venetian veins. We may say that there
were three ways in which it entered into Venetian life. First,
through original Greek and Eastern settlers ; second, through in-
termarriages with Greek women ; and third, through emigrants.
A number of the original families that fled to the lagoons, and
whose names are noted in the Chronicon Altinate, several are from
Greek centres ; such were the Salviani from Salonica, the Cam-
poli and Calpini or Albini Alboli from Capua. The famous
Guistiniani family was of Greek origin, and so were the Candi-
ani, and, later, the Zancaroli, Semitecoli, Bizzamani, and a host
of others whose names will be found in documents of the xn and
xni centuries.13 In many cases the signers of these documents
put themselves on record as Greeks by adding that epithet to
their name : Petrus Grecus, Petrus Greculo, Johannes Greco,
Dominicus Grecus, Philipo or Philipus Greco, Bartholomeo
Greco. In other cases the form of the name is a sufficient indi-
cation, for example : Petrus Sopulo, Domenicus Mazarion, Vi-
talis Basilio, Domenicus Nazio, Joannes Theonisto, Aurolino
Pantaleo, Aurius Sisinulo, Jacopo Theupolo, etc. Of even greater
importance, though less easy to gauge, is the effect of the inter-
marriages with Greek women, so common during several cen-
turies as to strongly affect the Venetian aristocracy. One of
the earliest on record is that of the grandson of doge Angelo
Partecepazio (or rather, according to the ancient form of the
word, Angelo Particiaco), who married in Constantinople be-
fore 821. Perhaps the most notable was that of John, the
son of the great doge Pietro Orseolo II. He was sent to Con-
stantinople in 1004, at the request of the Emperors Basil and
Constantine, who married him to their niece Mary with great
pomp, the young pair being crowned with gold crowns by the
emperors, and remaining in Constantinople over a year, together
with John's younger brother Otho, who afterwards became doge.
The Greek woman that was the most gossiped about by the
mediaeval writers is the sister of the Emperor Nicephorus Boto-
niates, who married Doge Domenieo Selvo (1071-84), and was
so much blamed for wearing gloves, using perfumes, and not eat-
13 Consult Tafkl and Thomas, op. cit., documents 25 (1090), 33 (1107), 59
(J 164), 63(1175), 78(1196).
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164 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
ing with her hands, but with fork and spoon. It is to be sup-
posed that a large part of the Venetians who took up their resi-
dence in the Eastern empire married Greeks.
It is hardly probable that Greek emigrants affected Venice
very considerably until the xi and xn centuries : we know that
their numbers increased immensely after the conquest of Constan-
tinople in 1204. In fact, the fall of the Eastern capital, so far
from putting an end to Byzantine influence in Venice, was the
occasion of its increase, especially in the sphere of art, both
through the great numbers of Greeks and Greek artists that
flocked to Venice, and the effect of the bringing to the city of the
wonderful art treasures of Constantinople which the Venetians
were alone in appreciating and seeking to save from destruction.
As Armingaud remarks : u " Commerce, politics, religion, all
contributed to favor the presence of the Venetians and to protect
their interests throughout the Eastern empire. They occupied a
quarter in the capital, a street in the principal towns. They
formed a numerous population, strongly established in the coun-
try by its riches, its high connections, and by its private interests
and affections, but also strongly attached to the mother country
by commercial relations, the enjoyment of a national legislation,
the authority of its consuls and ambassadors, and the supreme
jurisdiction of the head of its church, which was sufliciently hel-
lenized to attain rapid success in Greece but too Venetian ever
to forget Venice."
" If we turn from Constantinople to the lagoons, we find a no
less strange spectacle : after the Venetians of the East, the Greeks
of Venice ; after Venetian colonization in Greece, the transforma-
tion of Venice by the Byzantines. The Greek colony, so numer-
ous even now, has a very early origin. . . . But the presence of
the Greeks was as nothing compared to their influence. The
Venetians themselves seemed almost as Byzantine as the chil-
dren of Byzantium."
Perhaps in no sphere outside of the artistic can this fact be
14 M. T. Armingaud, Venise et le Bas-Empire. Histoire des relations de Venise
avec I empire d' Orient depuis le fondatlon de la republique jusqu'd la prise de Con-
stantinople au XIII siecle (p 451) : published in Archives des Missions Scicntifiques
et litteruires, 2« serie, t. 4. pp. 299-443.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 165
more clearly demonstrated than in that of diplomacy. As early
as the xi century the Venetian mind, trained by contact with the
wily court of Constantinople, had attained to that calm clear-
sightedness, that secrecy and discretion, that power of observa-
tion and knowledge of men, that ability to foresee and provide
for all contingencies, which once attained under such eminent
masters as the Byzantines, became traditional in Venice for cen-
turies and lay at the root of her success.
These notes on the relations of Venice to Byzantium are neces-
sarily brief and sketchy; but they are the substance of what
might be greatly enlarged upon. The different phases of politi-
cal dependence are well illustrated by Lentz's essay,15 and good
material is furnished by Armingaud, whose work, however, ex-
tends far beyond political questions into the social and commer-
cial spheres, and is not wholly to be relied upon. To these
works I refer for many details. The full force of the influence
of Byzantium can, however, be felt only on a careful reading of
the contemporary documents and the early chronicles.
This review will make it plain that, from her foundation up to
the xiii century, Venice furnished almost an ideal environment —
so far as there could be one in the West — for the use of Byzantine
art. It was the form of art prevalent in what was to the Venetians'
mind the most highly civilized portion of the world, the form they
were most accustomed to seeing, and which they thoroughly appre-
ciated and understood; while its harmonious, deep Oriental color-
ing captivated the natural Venetian color-sense. No one can
seriously deny that Venetian art was largely Byzantine in charac-
ter, so that it is not necessary to rehearse the matter here. The
only dispute could be as to whether there were many artists from
the East in Venice, or whether the churches were built and
decorated altogether by Venetians trained in some cases in Con-
stantinople. As this is really not of fundamental consequence in
this inquiry, I shall mention merely some cases that are recorded
14 Ed. Lkntz, Das Verhdltniss Venedigs zu Byzanz nach dem Fall des EzarchaU
bis zum Ausgang des neuenten Jahrhunderts. I. Venedig ah byzantinische Proving
(published in 1891 in Berlin) ; II. Der allmahliche Uebergang Venedigs von faktis-
cher zu nomineller Abhangigkeit von Byzanz (publ. in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 1898,
pp. 64-115).
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166 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
of Greek artists who worked in Venice, beginning with a fact that
must be regarded as of considerable importance in the artistic
history of Venice — the construction, at the expense of the Byzan-
tine emperor and by artists sent from Constantinople, of the
church and monastery of S. Zaccharias. The golden bull of the
Emperor Leo V (814-820), giving instructions for the erection
and enrichment of this monastery, has been lost. There remains,
however, the decree of Doge Justinian (827-829), which I shall
quote as being of unusual importance:16
"Cognitum sit omnibus Christi et saneti Roman! imperii Jidelibus, tarn
prccsentibus quam et ittis qui post nos futuri erunt, tarn ducibus, quam
patriarchis atque episcopis seu ceteris primatibus, quia ego Justinianus,
imperialis Hypatus et Venetiarum Dux, per recdationem domini nostri
omnipotentis et jussione domini serenissimi Imperatoris seu et conserva-
toris totius mundi, Leonis, post multa nobis beneficia concessa feci hoc
rnonasterium virginum hie in Venetia, secundum quod ipse iussit, cdifi-
care de propria camera imperiali, et secundum, quod iussit mild statim
cuncta necessaria auri sice argenti dart Tunc etiam nobis reliquias
saneti Zaccariae prophetae et lignum crucis domini atque sanctae Mariae
pannum sive de vestimentis Salvatoris et alias reliquias sanctorum nobis
ad ecclesiam sanctum consecrandam dari fecit. Ad necessaria huius
opais etiam magistros tribuit, ut citius opus explercnt, et expleto opere
congregatio sancta incessanter pro salute serenissimi imperatoris et suo-
rum heredum orarent. De thesauro vero, quod manifesta sua carta
cum Uteris aureis, et totum donum, quod in hoc loco ipse transmissit, in
ipsa camera salvum esse statuimus. Tamen ipsam cartam in camera
nostri palatii volumus at semper permaneat, et ut non valeal aliquis hoc
dicere, quod illud rnonasterium saneti Zaccariae de alicuius thesauro
esset constructum, nisi de sanctissimi domini nostri Imperatoris Leonis"
The Emperor Leo had been dead several years when Justinian
became doge in 827. But Justinian had been for some time in
Constantinople during the dogeship of his father, Agnellus Par-
ticiacus, probably in or before 819, was then made Hypatus by
Leo, and may, on his return to Venice, have brought with him the
emperor's bull and his gifts for the monastery which was to be
built, including the relics, and was probably then accompanied by
the Greek artists then destined by the emperor to erect the church
16Tafel and Thomas, Fontes rerum Austr. Abth. n, Diplomata et ctctat I, No. 1.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 167
and monastery. It must be believed that the construction was
commenced at once, while he was associated in the dogeship with
his father, for this decree of 827-29 speaks of the monastery as if
it were already constructed.17 A study of the Venetian docu-
ments shows that this was perhaps the most important monastery
in the city — the place of burial for the doges, of refuge or forced
retirement of great personages, the parish church of the new city,
the owner of vast possessions, about which it was involved in fre-
quent disputes. One would hardly be far from the truth in con-
jecturing that until the erection of St. Mark's in the xi century —
not as a ducal chapel, but as a large basilica — S. Zaccharia,
situated as it was not far from the ducal palace, was the most
monumental church in the city and influenced the development
of Venetian architecture, although so little now exists of the early
church that this must remain a mere conjecture.18 With S.
Zaccharia begins a series of Byzantine monuments in Venice —
palaces, churches, monasteries — some of which still remain.
Such were the early ducal chapel of S. Mark's, S. Fosca of Tor-
cello, S. Giacomo di Kialto, parts of the cathedral of Murano,
many palaces in the style of the Fondaco dei 7\irchi, and, finally,
the basilica of St. Mark's itself.
A notable invasion of Greek artists is evidently connected with
the building and decoration of S. Mark's in the xi century. At
that time Greek painters established an association in Venice
under the patronage of Aghia Sophia, at a house near the church
of St. Sophia, which had been built in 1020. Some native pupils
of this guild afterwards seceded, and the disputes between the
original and the branch associations were so vehement in the
xin century as to require the intervention of the authorities. A
member of this Greek invasion was probably the mosaicist Petrus,
17 In my paper on Byzantine Artists in Italy I referred to the presence of Greek
artists in Venice, for the erection of S. Zaccharia, solely on the late authority of San-
sovino, not having at that time become aware of the original document upon which
the assertion was based.
18 In his Oeschichte der Baukunst und Bildhauerci Venedigs (pp. 101-2), Mothes
says : " der bereits erwahnte Glockenthurm, sowie ein Stuck des Kreuzganges im
xugehbrigen Nonnenkloster, sehr einfach aus Rundbogen-Arcaden mit WurfelkapitdU
saulen bestehend, scheinen die einzigen UeberbUibsel dieses alien Banes zu scin.,} I
have not myself examined the tower and cloister, and cannot, therefore, judge
whether Mothes' rather bold conjecture is probable.
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168 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
who in 1100 began, according to an inscription, the mosaic decor-
ation of St. Mark's. In 1153 Marcus Indriomeni, a Byzantine
mosaicist, worked in Venice, and in the next century Theophanes
of Constantinople opened a school for painting in Venice. A
painter named Theophilus is also mentioned at this time. The
pure Greek school continued to rule Venice until the xiv century.
I shall not describe the Venetian churches and palaces con-
structed or decorated in the Byzantine style between the ix and
the xni centuries ; the general facts are well known, and I could
add but a few less-known examples. My object is merely to
prove that in Venice such works were no exotics, but in harmony
with the traditions, life and experience of the people.
One point remains to be touched upon, and that is the isola-
tion of Venice from all the rest of Italy. Is there any truth in
Springer's contention that this isolation was such as to prevent
her from radiating the Byzantine influence that had so possessed
her ? It seems as if the difficulty were raised through a historic
misapprehension, through the error of looking at the Venice of
the Middle Ages through the eyes of a modern man used to cen-
tralization, and who has in mind the isolated Venice of the last
few centuries, and does not realize that in the Middle Ages most
Italian cities were autonomous. As a matter of fact, there was
no city in Mediaeval Italy whose connections were so broad and
general, both within and without the limits of the peninsula.
Before and during the Crusades it was the principal port of em-
barkation for the Orient, the resort of pilgrims and of knights
from France, Germany and Italy. It supplied all Europe with
the natural and artistic products of the East, and in turn ran-
sacked the West for products to carry eastward in exchange. Its
colonies were not only in the east, but in the west also, in the
south of France (e. g., Limoges) and in Germany, and its vessels
not only utilized the seaports, but ran up the principal rivers. A
glance at the history and trade of Venice during the xn and xni
centuries would rather lead to the conclusion that Venice was
superior to all other Italian cities in her ability to influence
others. In the sphere of the Fine Arts, for example, we find
records of a number of foreigners working or studying in Venice,
like the sculptor Giovanni Demio of Vicenza, the Lombard engi-
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 169
neer and architect, Niecolo del Barattieri (xn cent), the Ferrarese
painter, Gelasio di Nicolo (c. 1200), the Florentine painter, Andrea
Taji, the Roman sculptor, Marcus (1217). On the other hand,
Venetian artists are found working in distant parts of the penin-
sula and even outside of Italy. It is probably they who built St.
Front at Perigueux, that famous facsimile of San Marco. We find
the Venetian sculptor Marcus Venetus working in 1210 at Genoa,
her later rival. Earlier than that, perhaps in the xi century, the
sculptor Joannes de Venetia carves the main portal of the church
of 8. Maria in Cosmedin in Rome. Two further examples of
great importance also come from Rome. During the last years
of the xn or the first of the xiii century Pope Innocent III had
the apse of S. Peter decorated with mosaics in the Byzantine
style, each figure accompanied by a bilingual inscription in Greek
and Latin.19 It appears certain that the Roman school itself, al-
though unsurpassed in decorative mosaics, was incapable at that
time of producing monumental figured works. Consequently we
must look outside of the native school for the mosaicists of the
apse of St. Peter's ; and there are only two schools in Italy, both
of Byzantine origin, to which they can be attributed — the Sicilian
and the Venetian.20 Of these we are bound to select the Vene-
tian, on the testimony of a letter of Pope Honorius III, which
shows that the mosaics still existing in the apse of St. Paul out-
side-the-walls, of the same style as those in St. Peter, were the
work of artists from Venice. This letter was addressed to Doge
Pietro Zian, on January 23, 1818.21 In it Honorius thanks the
doge for having already furnished him a mosaicist, and requests
lf Fragments from this apsidal mosaic of the old basilica still exist in the crypt of
St. Peter, and I believe in the Christian Museum of the Vatican. They had been
carefully and fully described before their destruction early in the xvi century.
10 The Byzantine mosaic school at the monastery of Monte Cassino, established in
the middle of the xi century, had stimulated, and in fact re-created the Roman
school of mouumental mosaic-painting during the first part of the xn century, but
this revival, though important, was only temporary, and after producing works at
S. Bartolommeo all' I sol a, S. Clemente, S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Francesca Ro-
mana, etc., it lapsed so completely that no works of any consequence were executed
•during the last forty years of the xn century.
n This letter was discovered and published by Prof. Mariano Armellini in his
Oronaehctta for 1898. See my article on the mosaics of Grottaferrata in the Gazette
Areheotogique for 1883.
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170 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
that others be sent to Rome from Venice in order to complete
the apsidal mosaics in St. Paul. Thus the two principal basilicas
of Rome were decorated by Veneto-Byzantine artists; and the
Roman school of figured mosaics, which was to produce such
fine works during the following hundred years, was reestablished
by this means. There is every reason to accept the substantial
accuracy of Vasari's statement that Andrea Tafi learned mosaic-
painting in Venice of the Greek Apollonios ; at all events, we
may believe that the Tuscan mosaic school of the close of the xiii
century was merely an offshoot from the Venetian.
In my article on Byzantine artists in Italy, I spoke of certain
Byzantine elements in the cathedral of Pisa, and referred to the
doubtful nationality of its principal architect, Buscheto. As the
form and the meaning of this artist's name have given rise to
much conjecture, and as it has, I believe, not been noticed to
occur elsewhere, it is interesting to find it in a Venetian docu-
ment of the xn century, under the form Busceto?2 and this gives
more likelihood to my suggestion of the Byzantine training of the
Pisan architect. In the same article the paintings of the Bizza-
mani family of Otranto are mentioned ; and this name is, I find,
that of a family of Venetian Greeks noted in the xn century, and
it seems likely that even at that time there may have been
painters among them, for they are mentioned as constructing the
church of St. Luke, the titular saint of the painters, and also the
building for the housing of the corporation of Greek painters
(a. d. 1147).
SOUTHERN ITALY.
It is or should be a commonplace, that Sicily and Southern
Italy, except for some Lombard cities, were essentially Greek
lands during the early Middle Ages. Sicily, beside a sprinkling
of Lombards, had but two classes of inhabitants before the Xor-
man conquest — Greeks and Arabs. Calabria was peopled by
Greeks. The majority of the cities of Apulia were founded in
the x and xi centuries by and for Greeks. Even Gaeta, almost
n This Busceto was an officer of the Venetian fleet that mutinied at Abydos in
1196, and the document which the officers signed, who clubbed together on this
occasion to pay their seamen, is signed by a considerable number of Greek names.
See Tafel and Thomas, op. cit.> doc. No. 78.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 171
at the gateB of Rome, as well as Naples and other cities of Cam-
pania, were preponderatingly Greek. It would be a waste of
time to show in detail the vicissitudes of this development and
the artistic side of it. Lenormant, Diehl, Battifol and a number
of Italian specialists have studied parts of the subject, and have
proved easily enough that Byzantine art enjoyed here every facil-
ity for free development in the midst of the most congenial envi-
ronment. In the present paper this part of the subject must be
taken for granted. The main prop of the anti-Byzantinists is
Rome, and Rome will therefore be my main objective; for if
Rome falls, what is left ?
ROME.
Among the arguments employed against the strength of Byzan-
tinism in Italy, none is more prominent than that based upon the
antagonism of Latin Rome to everything Byzantine. Such an
argument seems at first sight well-grounded. The split between
East and West on the question of image-worship, the schism be-
tween the two churches, the transference of the political allegiance
of Italy and the papacy from the Eastern emperors to the Franks
— all these are due directly to Rome and the papal policy. And
yet the fallacy of these reasons is almost self-evident. In the first
place, the persecution of image-worship was a matter of imperial
policy, not of popular feeling ; and the immense majority, both of
the clergy and of the people throughout the Orient, were in hearty
sympathy with the attitude of the Roman Pontiffs, which may
even be said to have strengthened rather than relaxed the hold of
Byzantine influence on Italy, especially in the field of art, for it
brought to the peninsula swarms of Byzantine artists. Then
it must be remembered that among those popes who stood up
strenuously for images and for the supremacy of Rome there were
Greeks and Orientals, and that in Greek lands there were still
many adherents to the Western Church. The transference of
political allegiance was soon counterbalanced by the influence of
the numerous Greek colonies and monasteries established in South-
ern Italy during and after the iconoclastic persecution (viii-xi
cent), in addition to the monasteries established in Rome itself.
Much is made of the continuity of the Roman tradition from
classic times. In illustrating this fact in the domain of art, for as
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172 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
late a period as the xn century, Prof. Springer uses the identity
of the decorative mosaic system used in the Sicilian churches with
that of the Roman monuments as his strongest argument in
favor of Rome's victory over Byzantium, even in her stronghold
of Sicily, as soon as the Norman conquest had freed the popula-
tion from the fetters of Byzantine tradition. Ample proof will be
given in this article — for the first time, I believe, — that this beau-
tiful system of decoration is, after all, not Roman, but Byzantine
and Oriental in its origin, and that if it proves anything it proves
that Byzantine art held sway even in Rome itself.
And yet, while it is perfectly natural that the strength of the
Roman tradition should be constantly urged, it may be asked :
Was there an unbroken Roman tradition ? If it could be proved
that a large Byzantine element was introduced at any time so as
to form an integral part of the Roman development, in various
forms of civilization, this theory of the radical opposition of the
two would be no longer tenable.
Up to the vi century the Roman tradition may be regarded as
unbroken. Whatever Greek element had found a home in it
was a common inheritance of East and West before the forma-
tion of a distinct Byzantine type of civilization, and yet this
Greek element was sufficiently powerful to affect the stream of
Roman development. Greek was the sacred language, the lan-
guage of the church from the beginning, and it remained so,
more or less, until the xi or xn century. Greek ideas were
most influential in literature, in liturgy, and in artistic types and
subjects.23 The absorption of this element was, however, complete,
and the tradition thus established was not disturbed until the vi
century. During the first decades of this century there were signs
of closer union with Byzantium. The Arianism of King Theo-
doric the Goth led to a rapprochement between popes and em-
perors, and this was shown when Pope John II went to Constan-
tinople in 525, where he was received with great honor, and
crowned Justin emperor. The colonies of Alexandrians, of Syri-
ans and of Greeks in Rome were reinforced, and churches were
built in honor of Eastern saints. A typical monument of this
sort is the church of SS. Cosmas and Damian, in the Forum,
** E. g., portraits of Christ and series of biblical compositions*
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 17$
built by Pope Felix IV (526-30) in honor of these great twin
physicians, stayers of plague and pestilence — the Christian ^Escu-
lapii, famous throughout the East. Gregorovius says : " They
received an honor which had been, until then, reserved in Borne to
Roman martyrs alone." u
With the introduction of Eastern saints came that of the Byzan-
tine style, just then in process of formation, and preparing itself
for its great achievement at St. Sophia. The sculptures of the
ciborium and parapet in S. Clemente at Rome, executed between
514 and 535, are convincing proof of the presence of Byzantine
artists in the city. Then came the Byzantine invasion, and the
eighteen years that elapsed between the conquest of Sicily by
Belisarius in 535 and the last heroic stand of King Teias against
Narses in 553, were years that brought Rome — the centre of this
conflict — into the dust, laid her in ruins, and so decimated her
population that at one time it was reduced to live hundred citizens,
and for forty days the city was tenanted only by animals. The
so-called deliverance of Italy by Justinian's generals from the
Goths, who had shown themselves kind masters and protectors of
the arts, was productive of greater ruin than the invasions of
Alaric's Visigoths, Attila's Huns, or Genseric's Vandals.
When a remnant of the scattered and decimated population
crept back to their fallen city, they found themselves led, by the
force of circumstances, to place themselves under the rule of a
Byzantine governor whom they and the popes were obliged to
welcome as the only protection against barbarian invasions.
Rome had not been for nearly two centuries the capital of Italy,
nor was it as yet the seat of a papacy politically powerful, so that
its re-population was slow and accomplished largely by means of
foreign blood — of Greeks and Orientals, and even of Northern-
ers. Such had been the mortality that the senatorial class had
ceased to exist. All traditions were broken. Men were no
longer called by name after the elaborate Roman fashion, but
merely by their given Christian name, after the Greek manner,
14 1 should qualify this statement by referring to some earlier instances of
churches dedieated to Eastern Saints. Such was the church of St. Mennas, on the
Ostian Way, founded in the iv or v century by a corporation of Alexandrians, and
the church of St. Phokas, of whom Asterius, Bishop of Amasea, asserts th,at he was
as much venerated in Rome as Peter and Paul.
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174 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
and this casting away of so universal and radical a custom is a
type of the complete change in every sphere. The centuries that
followed, though they witnessed a gradual recuperation and knit-
ting together, were in many ways grievous, and only at the close
of the vin century did Rome raise her head again. It was irk-
some to be under the yoke of servants of an emperor of another
land. This feeling is well expressed in the " Lament for Rome,"
written at the time, and which begins with the lines :
.Nobilibus quondam fueras constructa patronis
Subdita nunc servis, heu male, Roma ruis
Deseruere tui tan to te tempore reges
Cessit et ad Graecos nomen honorque tuus.
This Byzantine domination, after being initiated by Belisarius
and Narses, was firmly established when, in answer to the prayers
of Italians, the Emperor Tiberius decided to send an exarch and
an army. It favored the introduction into the waste places of
Rome of a large share of Byzantine elements. We have had in
Rome itself a recent example of what may then have taken place
on a smaller scale. When the Italians entered Rome in 1870,
and made it their capital, there came an inrushing flood of North
Italians and Tuscans, especially men filling government offices,
the military and hangers-on of various types ; and this invasion
amounted, after a short while, to nearly one hundred thousand
persons. Although we cannot estimate even approximately the
population of Rome in the second half of the vi century, the new
Byzantine element must have been strongly felt. This element
-consisted of a considerable number of dignitaries belonging to the
Byzantine bureaucracy and military system, a garrison which
developed into an important institution — the Roman army — , a
considerable body of monks, a large element in the higher clergy,
and a nucleus of average citizens engaged in commerce, trade,
industry or letters, filling a good-sized quarter of Rome on and
about the Aventine, along the banks of the Tiber. During the
two centuries that followed Rome was without civic prosperity
and it may be said that its activity was in great part centred in
the great monasteries that arose on all sides, of which the more
important seem to have been Greek. The immediate introduc-
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 175
tion and lasting preponderance of Greek names in contemporary
documents prove the sweeping nature of the new immigration.
The incoming Greeks were not, after a while, regarded as strang-
ers, as were the Lombards, Saxons and Franks, but as merely
another branch of the Roman stock.
It must be realized that at this time (vi cent.) the Byzantine
civilization was and for several centuries remained the only com-
plete Christian civilization. What was there outside of Byzan-
tium but the rude Franks, Lombards, Saxons and Germans ?
Where in Italy, if we except the Benedictine order, can we find
during the vn or viii centuries a centre of culture that does not
call Byzantium its fountain he^d ?
In studying the vicissitudes of Rome after the middle of the
vi century, it would be convenient to take it up from different
points of view, such as (1) the monasteries ; (2) the papacy and
secular clergy ; (3) the ecclesiastical and civil administration ; (4)
church liturgy and music ; (5) language and customs of the peo-
ple ; (6) the arts and industries. In view of the limited space at
my disposal, only suggestive and typical facts will be mentioned.
The subject deserves a volume. It has never been touched.
Gregorovius, in his voluminous history of Mediaeval Rome, other-
wise so admirable and complete, seems to be quite unconscious
of the facts of Rome's Byzantine transformation.
BYZANTINE MONASTERIES AND CHURCHES IN ROME.
The Byzantine monasteries in Rome were the most prominent
centres of Byzantine influence — in religion, in society, in litera-
ture, in art, and on the people at large. They extend in an
unbroken line from the vi to the xi and xn centuries. Their
study naturally precedes everything else. The churches attached
to them and those which were built and decorated for the use of
the Greek colony naturally gave employment to Greek artists, as
is proved by the remaining works themselves, and thus became
the models for native artists. In the East the monasteries had ac-
quired such enormous power during the vi and vn centuries as to
excite the jealousy of the emperors. The Eastern monks soon
acquired a strong foothold in Rome, certainly as early as the
middle of the vi century ; and it is evident that a goodly pro-
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176 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
portion, possibly even a large majority, of the monasteries estab-
lished in the city from that time up to the close of the ix century
were inhabited by Greek monks. Among the earliest were the
Syrians (who furnished also several popes), with whom the mon-
astic life had become a passion, and whose monasteries were
spread over the entire East, from the desert of Scete in Egypt to-
the establishments of the Nestorian monasteries in China and
India.
Monast. Boetianum. — According to the Liber Pontificalis, one of
these Syrian Xestorian monasteries in Rome was broken up by
Pope Donus (676-78), the monks being distributed among other
monasteries : Hie repperit in urbe Roma, in monasterio qui appellator
Boetiana nestorianitas monachos Syros, quos per dicersa monasteries
divisit ; in quo praedicto monasterio monachos Romanos instituit.25
S. Maria in Schola Graeca. — It is probable that Greek monks
were placed at S. Maria in Schola Graeca or Graecorum, called after-
wards S. Maria in Cosmedin, before the close of the century. Its
foundation in the vi century is confirmed by some early sculp-
tured decoration of its period. It was early given to the great
association of Greeks established in this quarter of the city and
became their main centre. It is mentioned soon among the
diaconal churches and by the Einsiedeln itinerary in the vin cen-
tury,26 and near it arose the building which was the place of
assembly of the schola, the place where were taught ecclesiastical
music, the copying and illuminating of mss. and the practice of
various other arts. In 752 it was given to Greeks who had fled
from the iconoclastic persecutions.
S. Saba. — The church and monastery of S. Saba were built for
some Greek Basilian monks who came from the monastery of this
name in Jerusalem at some time during the vi century, probably
after the middle, as S. Saba was not canonized until 532. In the
Beschreibung Boms (293), it is asserted to have been built for the
Greek monks by Pope Honorius in c. 630. It was called Cella
nova, probably to distinguish it from the parent monastery in
tt Were we tempted by its name, monasterium Boetianum or Boetiana, to refer
the foundation of this monastery to the family of the great Boethius, the advent of
the Syrian monks might be placed early in the vi century at the latest.
*• Inde per acholam graeeorum ; ibi in sinistra ecclesia graecorum. Cf. Armbl-
LINI, Le chiese di Roma, pp. 891-2.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 177
Jerusalem. Johannes Diaconus mentions it in his life of Gregory
the Great. Its importance is evident from the Liber Pontificalis :
in 767 the usurping pope Constantine, and the leader of his party,
the Chartularius Gratianus, were both relegated to this monas-
tery. Cattaneo27 finds archaeological reasons, independent of
historic data, for assigning the original church to this date in
the style of a capital in the left aisle, of the proto-Byzantine style,
similar to the one at S. Maria in Cosmedin. The monastery was
given to the Order of Cluny in 1144.
S. Cesareo in Palatio. — Interesting although perhaps the smallest
of the early Greek establishments was the church of S. Cesareo
on the Palatine, called Ecclesia S. Cesarii in Palatio, which is
known to have been the imperial Byzantine chapel of the city
as early as 603, in the time of Phokas. Here were placed the
images of the emperors sent from Constantinople, and attached
to it was one of the earliest Greek monasteries of Rome, called
Monasterium S. Caesarii graecorum. Here the Basilian monk S.
Saba the younger received hospitality when he came to Rome
(989-91), sent by the patrician of Amalfi to Otho III. The
choice of this church for the honor of receiving the imperial por-
traits was probably made in the time of Narses, and the occupa-
tion of the monastery by Greek monks was contemporary if not
earlier.28
S. Anastasia. — Passing from the monasteries to the churches of
the vi century, we borrow from the Abbe Duchesne what he says
of S. Anastasia. The church of S. Anastasia, at the foot of the
Palatine Hill, where it approaches the Tiber, was- so close to the
port that it was the first church met with by travellers coming
from Africa, Constantinople and Alexandria, and before the foun-
dation of S. Giorgio in Velabro in the vn century was the church
of the Velabrum. In the earliest list of Roman churches known
it takes third rank, immediately after the Lateran and Liberian
basilicas — the two cathedrals of Rome. Beside this, it was the
custom from before the time of Gregory the Great to celebrate
three masses on Christmas day at S. Maria Maggiore, S. Anasta-
17 L'archittetura in Italia dal VI° al XI° secolo, pp. 38-39.
mDuch£SNK, Bulletin Critique, 1885, Oct. 15, pp. 417-24 j cf. De Rossi, Bail.
Arch. Crist, 1884-85, p. 143.
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178 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
sia and S. Peter. The importance thus given in many ways to
this church is due to the fact, that it was long the only and re-
mained the principal church of the central quarter of Rome, of
the Palatin, the Forum, the Port and its vicinity. The churches
that were one by one founded in this quarter since the vi century
were always chapels, especially diaconal chapels, and no other
presbyterial titulus comes to compete with the old titidus Anasta-
sice. It remains the parish church of the entire quarter. Now,
this quarter attained to great importance during the Byzantine
period. Not only did its population increase to the detriment of
the other parts of the city, but it included the Palatine. The
former imperial palace was the seat of the government, the resi-
dence of the staff, the centre of the exercitus Romanics, that mili-
tary body which, after the disappearance of the Senate, reestab-
lished an aristocracy at Rome. Doubtless in the palace itself
there was a sort of official sanctuary, the church of S. Cesareo, in
which the images of the emperors were preserved. But S. Cesa-
reo was but a chapel. The real parish church of the Palatin was
S. Anastasia. This church was placed, so to speak, at the junc-
tion of the seven ecclesiastical regions of Rome. Hence the
crosses carried in procession on the great station days — one for
each region — were kept at S. Anastasia. Both S. Cesareo and
S. Anastasia were privileged beyond all other Roman churches
(except S. Maria Maggiore and the Lateran) as starting-places for
the great processions. Their decay began with the fall of the By-
zantine power, and is evident in ix century.29
S. Giorgio in Velabro. -~-The role of the church of S. Giorgio in
Velabro is well defined by M. Battifol. This church, founded
late in the vi or early in the vn century, is closely connected
with the rise of Byzantine influence in Rome, for S. George was
the most popular of all Eastern saints. Not only while Rome is
governed by a Byzantine duke and the Holy See occupied by
Greek Popes, but even later, when distracted between the Byzan-
tine and the Carlovingian powers, the Roman Church continued
to exercise favor and hospitality to the Greeks (see Jaffe, No.
3091, 3323), and, for instance, to ask protection of the dromones
of Basil I. Under Zacharias (741-52) the head of S. George
• L. Duchesne, Melanges de VEc* Fi-ancaise, vn (1887), 5, p. 887 seq.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 179
was brought to the Lateran, and was transported with great
pomp to his diaconal church in the Velabrum. Henceforth its
influence and riches increase immensely. Doubtless it is not the
seat of the schola Graecorum (like S. Maria in Cosmedin), neither
is it a diaconal church officiated by Greek monks (like S. Anas-
tasia) — at least there is no proof of this ; but the Greeks were
buried here as in a church belonging to them, and it had as
its rector an archpricst who was at a certain time Greek. This is
proved by a small group of Byzantine inscriptions still existing
there. Two lengthy inscriptions compose the epitaph, which was
written for himself by the archpriest John, born under the pon-
tificate of John VIII (872-82), giving an account of his life.90
S. Andrea ad Clivum Scauri. — The monastery of S. Andrea,
founded by Gregory the Great in his paternal house on the Clivus
Scauri?1 was within the Greek quarter, and from the beginning
contained Greek monks. The name of its first abbot was Hila-
rion (c. 570), certainly a Greek. Its third abbot, Maximianus,
became bishop of Syracuse — a sign of probable Greek nation-
ality— and died in 595. When Johannes Diaconus wrote his life
of Gregory it was in Greek hands, because he calls its abbot by
the title hegumen. This was under Pope John VIII (872-82).
This monastery was long among the most important and influen-
tial in Rome.
S. Lucia de Renatis and (he domus Arsicia. — The monastery
•called Herenatis, or more usually de RenatiSj received a colony of
•Greek monks before 649, as Duchesne notes in his edition of the
Liber Pontificalis (n, p. 39). It appears soon to have acquired
•considerable importance. When the Council in Trullo was held
in Constantinople in 680-81, one of the Roman delegates was
George, a priest and monk of the monastery of Renas or Rena-
tus. It is interesting to note that the emperor had asked Pope
Agatho to send to the Council four abbots, one from each of four
Byzantine monasteries (etc Se reaadp&v Bv&vrhop fiovaarrjpuov if*
4/cdoTov fiovaarrjpiov afifidSas reaaapasi). The pope sent Theo-
* Inscriptions Byzantines de Saint Georges au Velabre, par M. Pierre Batti-
■tol, in Melanges de VEc. Fr., vn (1887), 6, 419.
11 Carini, Cronichetta inedita del monastero di S. Andrea ad clivum scauri, pub-
lished in II Muratori, II, p. 5.
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180 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
phanes, the higumen of the monastery of Baias in Sicily, George-
of the monastery of Renas in Rome, and Conon and Stephen,,
priests and monks of the monastery of the domus Arsicia, also in
Rome. These passages are interesting, as showing that the
Byzantine monasteries in Rome were noted as early as the vn
century. I am unable to say whether the monastery called domm
Arsicia is to be identified with any one of the monasteries of my
list.
S. Erasmo. — Pope Adeodatus (672-6) appears to have been a
monk in the monastery of S. Erasmus on the Coelian. He added
many buildings to it, and placed there a congregation of monks
and an abbot.32 That these were Greeks appears from several
passages of the Liber Pontificalis, e.g., in the life of Leo III (795-
816), where the higumen is mentioned. It was taken from the
Greek morales by Leo VII, who gave it to the Benedictine monas-
tery of Subiaco by a bull of 938.
There are several Greek monasteries the date of whose founda-
tion is not known, but as there is no record of their existence
until the vni century, it is safe to assume that they were among
those founded in consequence of the wholesale monastic emigra-
tion which took place from the Eastern provinces of the Byzan-
tine Empire during this century, as a result of the repressive
policy of the Byzantine emperors.
The Syrian Pope Gregory III (731-41) built, according to the
Liber Pontificate, two monasteries : that of SS. John the Evangel-
ist and the Baptist, and S. Pancratius near the Lateran, and that
of SS. Stephen Laurentius and Chrysogonus, by S. Crisogono in
Trastevere. It is not certain whether they were occupied at first
by Benedictines or Basilians.
SS. Stephen and Sylvester. — Paul II (757-68) erected the monas-
tery of SS. Stephen and Silvester (S. Silvestro in Capite), with a
magnificent church, and filled it with Greek monks. The words
used are interesting, as they connect the Greek monks with
church music : ubi et monachorum congrcgationem constituens, grece
** Liber Pontif. (in vita Adeodati) : Sed et in monasterio sancti Erasmi situm in
Celio monte, in quo concrevisse visits est predictus sanctissimus t>*>, mulia nova edifi-
cia augmcntavit, et mulia ibi praedia conquisivit. et in vita sua abbatem et congrega*
tionem ibidem instituit.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 181
modulationis psalmodk cynovium esse decrevit, atque Deo . . . laudes
•statuit persolvendas. In the further passages in the Liber Pon-
•tificaliSj where an account is given of the establishments of Greek
monks, the perpetual chanting is mentioned in every case but
one ; whereas this is not so generally done when monasteries are
spoken of that were not peopled by Greeks.38 This question relating
to church music is one to which reference will be made in greater
detail at a later point.
Other Monasteries of VIII Century. — S. Gregorio, S. Prisca, S.
JBalbina. — Other monasteries were founded in this century. The
report of the Roman council under Pope Stephen III (768-72)
mentions the Greek monasteries as a class when it describes
the opening session : presente .... pontijice .... considentibus
. . . episcopis . . . adsante etiam Anastasio archidiacono et cunctis relir
giosis Dei famulis tarn latinorum monasteriorum vel graecorum cyno-
viorum atque proceribiis ecclesiae et cuncto clero, optimatibus etiam mill-
tiae seu cuncti exercitus et onestorum civium et cunctae generalitatis
popuh." This passage is a good example of the enumeration of
the different classes into which the population of Rome was divided.
Among these establishments is the nunnery of S. Maria in
Campo Martio™ also called 8. Gregorio, because it possessed the
body of S. Gregory Xazianzen, brought to Rome in the viii cen-
tury. In the xn century Cencius Camerarius calls it S. Gregorio
graecorum. This nunnery was probably important for the pro-
duction of ecclesiastical vestments and hangings in Oriental style,
such as were then so popular everywhere, especially in Rome.
Other monasteries were those of (1) S. Prisea on the Aventine,
which was taken from the Greeks in 1062 ; (2) S. Balbina, whose
prior had the privilege of reading the gospel in Greek in the
papal chapel on Resurrection day.
S. Prassede. — In the following century the most important
foundation was that of the sumptuous establishment erected next
to the church of S. Prassede by Pope Paschal I (817-24). The
Liber Pontifiealis says : Construxit in eodem loco a fundamentis ceno-
u One doubtftil case is that of S. Cecilia, where Pope Paschal placed a congrega-
tion of monka pro quotidianis laudibus . . . die noctuque omnipotenti Domino decan-
tandis. We cannot tell whether these were Greek or Benedictine monks.
M Gregorovius says (n, 234) that it was founded in 750 by fugitives from Con-
stantinople.
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182 A. L. FROTHINQUAM, JR.
bium quod et nomine sanctae Praxedis virginis titulavit; in quo et
sanctam graecorum congregationem adgregans, quae die noctuque grece
modulationis psalmodie laudes . . . sedule persolverent introduxit. This
monastery was given to regular canons by Anastasius IV in c.
1153. In this passage emphasis is again laid on the singing of
the Greek monks according to the Greek psalmody.
SS. Stephen and Cassianus. — Shortly afterward Pope Leo IV
(847-55), in restoring the monastery of SS. Stephen and Cassi-
anus at S. Lorenzo, filled it with Greek monks, also spoken of as
proficient in psalmody, in the text that relates this fact.35
Other Monasteries of ix and x centuries. — The cessation of the
Iconoclastic persecutions did not put an end to the incoming of
Greek monks ; and this was owing partly to the fact that restrictive
laws were still in force against monasticism in the East, and
partly to the influx due to the Greek colonization of Southern Italy,
which affected even Rome. One special persecution was that of
Leo the Armenian (813-20). S. Anastasius had a monastery in
Greek hands. SS. Alessio e Bonifacio was one of the latest im-
portant foundations. In 977 it was handed over by Pope Bene-
dict VII to the exiled Sergios, metropolitan of Damascus, and in
it were both Basilian and Benedictine monks, some of whom
became very famous missionaries.
Grottaferrata. — Greatest of all these later foundations was the
famous Basilian monastery founded at the gates of Rome, in Grotto-
f 'errata , by S. Nilus of Calabria. This man, the most noted of all
the Greek monks of Southern Italy, after a journey broken at
more than one place, notably near Monte Cassino, where he and
his followers staid for some time, came to Grottaferrata in the last
years of the x century. This monastery soon became a centre of
learning and art, exerting great influence upon the culture of
Rome during the xi and xn centuries.
This enumeration and classification of Greek monasteries is
doubtless far from complete. It is sufficient, however, to revolu-
tionize our preconceived ideas and to serve as a basis for a study
of the influence of Byzantium in different branches of culture,
u Liber Pont, (in vit. Leonis) : In quo etiam sanctae conversation^ plures greco
constituit monachos genere qui Deo omnipoienti eodemque martyri die noctuque laudes
persolverent.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 183
such as art, music, literature, liturgy, ecclesiastical and social or-
ganization and popular customs and traditions.
Byzantine Art in the Monasteries — Sculptures and Textiles. — Be-
sides having an evident part in the formation of the school of
Roman music these monasteries assisted in the spread of Byzan-
tine art in Italy. The great majority of Byzantine artists were
monks and there were undoubtedly many artists in these Greek
monasteries in Rome as early as the vi century, and they con-
stantly increased in numbers. The legend of the coming to Rome
of artist-monks from the East at the time of the Iconoclastic perse-
cution after 726 and again in the ix century, takes on a far greater
importance than Professor Springer believes. They were no
ephemeral visitors, for they came to monasteries already estab-
lished by their compatriots and doubtless also founded new estab-
lishments, for they found themselves in an atmosphere in many
ways congenial. There can be hardly a doubt that to the Greek
artist-monks in such monasteries as those of Rome and Ravenna,
we owe the execution, for example, of the immense number of
works of decorative sculpture, first carefully described by Cattaneo
and shown to be in a style that prevailed from one end of Italy to
the other. Rome and its province is full of traces of this decor-
ation which give us some idea of its great extent before it was
ruthlessly destroyed in the xn and xin centuries to make way
for the new ornamentation in mosaic. I hear that there has
been an exhibition in Rome during the winter entirely devoted to
this style of decoration, and that it has proved a revelation even
to archaeologists. Examples in Rome may be seen at S. Maria
in Cosmedin, S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Lorenzo-fuori-le-mura,
S. Giovanni a Porta Latina, S. Clemente, S. Agnese, S. Sabina,
S. Giovanni in Laterano, S. Prassede, S. Giorgio in Velabro, SS.
Quattro Coronati and other churches. Some of these works
show the hand of Greek artists, others the inferior style of their
Italian pupils. For a detailed study I can only refer to Cat-
taneo's oft-cited work. The earliest examples, dating from the
sixth century, at S. Clemente, S. Maria in Cosmedin, and S.
Saba, have been already noticed on pp. 173-176. The style pre-
vailed in Rome and its territory until the xi century. It had
been preceded by what may be called the metal style ; for the
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184 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
Liber PonUficaUs sufficiently proves that the main early decoration
of the choirs in Roman churches was of silver and silver gilt
whether in the form of statues, bas-reliefs or simply architraves
and balusters. This continued even after the introduction of the
carved marble parapets, which seem not to have become really
prevalent until the pontificate of Leo III (795) at the close of the vin
century, although they were already in common use in the churches
attached to Greek monasteries.
Cattaneo has brought forward convincing proof that this style
of relief marble decoration was not a native Italian style in its
origin. It has been asserted even since the publication of this
book that the style is distinctly an Italian growth, an invention
of Lombard artists. This position has been taken by a very
well known and talented writer in the field of Byzantine archae-
ology, Strzygowski, especially in a paper published in the Byzan-
tinische Zeltschrift for 1892, so that it seems necessary here to
refer briefly to the proofs of its Byzantine origin. In the first
place, its appearance in Italy dates from the first half of the vi
century, before the Lombards had originated any art forms, while
Italy was so full of desolation, war and famine, that no creation
of art forms seems possible in any part of it, and it appeared
at a time when Byzantine influence was beginning very strongly
to show itself in other ways also. Its centres of production from
this time forward are precisely the centres of Byzantine influence
in Italy — Ravenna, Rome, Venice, etc. What is thus shown to
be probable becomes, however, a certainty, when we inquire
whether any such works are to be found in Greece, Con-
stantinople and other parts of the Byzantine empire. Sculptured
slabs in this style are illustrated in Salzenberg,36 Pulgher,57 Cat-
taneo88 and Brockhaus39 from the following places ; Churches of
S. Theodore, (Mefa Djamissi), SS. Peter and Marc (Atik Mus-
tapha Pasha Djamissi), of the Theotokos and S. Irene at Constanti-
nople ; the monasteries of Iwiron, Lawra, Xeropotamu and others
at Mt. Athos ; the Cathedral at Athens and the church of Daphne
near Athens, etc. The strong resemblance between all these
88 AlUChristliche Baudenkmale von Konstantinopel.
91 Les anciennes Eglises Byzantines de Constantinople, pU. vi, vni, xiv.
88 V Architettura in Italia, etc, pp. 251-255.
" Die Kunst in den Athos-Klostern, pi. 7, 8.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 185
works and those executed throughout Italy during the same
period, is sufficient to prove a common origin, and that this origin
is to be sought for in the Orient is a fact that requires no argu-
mentation, as we can find all the constituent elements in Byzan-
tine churches of the sixth century. The two examples of one of
the types selected for illustration in Figures 23 and 24 are as
-closely alike as two works by different hands could well be, and
yet one is at Mt. Athos and the other in Venice, and both date
■shortly before 1000 a. d. They illustrate also the interesting fact
that when the passage was made in decorative work from the
Fio. 28.— Slab from Fountain at Lawra, Mt. Athos. (c. 1000 a. d.)
(From Brook ha ls, Die Kunst in dem Athoe-Ktiktern, PL. 8.)
•system in marble low relief to that of flat mosaic inlay, the de-
signs of the old style were often retained : it was largely a change
of material, not of form. This can be seen by an examination of
the combinations of circles on the Salerno pulpit (Plate xv),
which are typical of a large part of the decoration of the Italian
Schools.
Beside these sculptures there still exist in Rome a multitude of
frescoes and mosaics executed between the vn and xiii centuries
which are also attributable to the Greek monastic artists and
their school; but the question is so complex as to exclude it
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186 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
from these pages, and it is, besides, a point that is too generally-
conceded to require further demonstration. One of the most inter-
esting examples is the series of frescoes of the viii cent, recently-
uncovered in the church of S. Maria in Schola Graeca. This
church was the most important monument executed under the
productive pontificate of Hadrian I (772-95), and the frescoes
are thoroughly Byzantine, but no adequate detailed general
treatment of these frescoes has yet appeared. There is, however,
one class of works of art that has almost entirely disappeared
but which formed the largest part of the papal gifts to churches-
Fig. 24.— Slab from the Crypt of San Marco, Venice.
(From Cattaneo, Uarchitettura in Italia, p. 248 : c. 829 or 976 a. d.)
and monasteries during the vnr and ix centuries. These are the
textiles, enumerated in the Lives of the Popes (Liber Pontificalis)
with an accuracy that shows the descriptions to be taken from
contemporary records. There are thousands of veils, hangings,
altar-fronts, priestly robes of every variety of technique, usually
ornamented with elaborate figured or decorative compositions.
The technical terms employed in the careful descriptions of these
works are Greek, and in some cases have long puzzled the sagac-
ity of commentators : such terms are stauracin, periclysin, chryso-
clavus, holoseriais, spanoclystus, blattin, storax, etc.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 187
It is conceded that these textiles are of Byzantine and Oriental
origin and manufacture ; *° the few remaining works of this period
in various European museums prove this 41 and we know that
Europe did not free herself from dependence upon Byzantium
until the xi and xn centuries by the establishment of native
manufactures, as at Palermo, in Flanders, and in Northern
France.42
There are several objections to the current theory that all the
textiles mentioned in the Lives of the Popes were importations
from the East. The first is their immense number — reaching
into the thousands — which can be realized only by reading the
text of the Liber Pontificalis in the lives of such popes as Leo III
(795-816), and Paschal I (817-24). The second is the multi-
tude of Greek technical terms so accurately used by the
Roman writer in describing them. The third is the use of the
word fecit instead of obtulit in connection with the donation of
almost each piece. Now, it is well known how commonly fecit
was used in the place of fieri fecit , of the patron who ordered the
execution of a work of art. It seems as if the text of the Liber
Pontificalis, by using this expression, lends itself to the interpreta-
tion that, as a rule, these gifts were made by the Pope's order.
Otherwise is it probable that the hangings for the churches, to be
placed between the columns, and the vela for the altars, would be
of exactly the right size ; that the subjects embroidered or woven
on them should so often reproduce the legend of the patron saint
of the church or legends special to the Roman church (e. g. un-
der Leo III) ; that there should be portraits and names of the
Papal donor and other inscriptions in Latin (e. g. Leo IV)?43
It would seem natural to conclude that they were then quite gen-
erally made to order not in Constantinople but in some one of
the Greek monasteries in Rome. Were this a fact we can see
how readily the workmen,, being in Rome, could furnish for the
40 Gregorovius, Oesch. d. Stadt Rom. im M. A. II.
41Cahier & Martin, Melanges d'archtologie ; Labarte, Les arts industriels au
Moyen Age, e. g. II, p. 420; Muntz, La Tapisserie, p. 80; and especially Michel,
Recherches sur les etoffes de sole, d'or et d'argent pendant le Moyen-Age, pp. 29-58.
41 Muntz, pp. 83-96; Michel, op. cit.
43 Vestem habentem tabulas chrysoclavas tres, et historlam Dominicae passionis le-
gentem: " Hoc est corpus meumy quod pro vobis tradetur," etc.
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188 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
Papal registers lists of the pieces made, in which, being familiar
with Latin, as workmen in Constantinople could not be, they
transcribed accurately in Latin the Greek terms descriptive of
each. It is precisely at the time of the persecution of the Icon-
oclasts that the great production of such work begins in Rome,44
and the fact that a large proportion of them at this time were
ornamented with sacred compositions would almost exclude the
possibility of their having been made in the East, where such a
violation of the new artistic law against sacred compositions was
so severely punished.45
It is not likely that the embroidered and woven stuffs were the
only works executed by the Byzantine monks among the various
classes of objects of art given by the Popes to the Roman churches.
The vases and vessels of gold and silver could hardly have been
the product of decaying Italian art. From one end of Italy to
the other there can be gathered examples of such works known
from documents to have been imported during these centuries
from the East or sent as gifts from Byzantine emperors to popes
and monasteries.
To summarize, it seems that the Greek monasteries, which
formed so preponderating a part of Roman life in the Early Mid-
44 Under the reign of Hadrian (795). There is a tradition that the Greek nuns
who, nearly a half century before, came and occupied the monastery of S. Maria in
Campo Martio or S. Gregorio, did work in embroidery and needlowork for the
churches.
46 Si nee writing these lines I find that Greoorovius has suggested ( Gesch. d. Stadt
Rom. in M., II, 378) the probability that many of these works were made in Rome
by artists called from the East. He believes this to be so especially in the case of
Pope Hadrian. After denying the Byzantine character of his mosaics, he continues :
"Aber jene zahUosen Fraehtteppiehe mit eingesiiekten Historien mochten Byzantin-
isehen Ursprungs sein. Ihre Kunst stammte aus dem Orient, und wurde in Byzanz
und Alexandria eifrig betrieben. Von dort katnen wahrscheinlich Kunstler naeh
Rom, fur die Papste zu arbeiten, und wahrend der Bilderverfolgung xoaren ihrer vide
naeh Italien ausgewandert. Die Namen der rikamirten Gewander und Deeken zeigen
sowol cine grosse Mannigfaltigkeit three Staffs und ihrer Teehnik, aU die Herkunft
aus dan byzantinisehen Reiche. Die vielen Bezeichnungen fur Teppiche oder vela
sind oft grieehisch, oft geradezu naeh ihrtm Vaterland, Alexandria, Tyrus, Byzanz
und Rhodusbenammt," etc. Labarte also (Arts Industr., IV, p. 884), speaking of
the Greek Pope Zacharias (741-62), and his gift of a gold altar-cloth to S. Peter, says :
14 line s'agitpas Id d'une etoffe achetee, mais bien d'une etoffe fabriquee d Rome, dans
laquelle etait tisse un sujet. Von ne peut douler . . . que le travail ne fut sorti de
la main des tisserands greesn whom the Pope called to Borne.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY, 189
die Ages, while exercising only a limited influence in the domain
of architectural construction,45 held complete sway in architectural
decoration and all decorative sculpture, in fresco and mosaic
painting, in woven and embroidered artistic* textiles and probably
in works of gold and silver. That their sway remained uninter-
rupted is shown by the continuity of the style of art which they
established and by their continued possession of many of their mon-
asteries until the xi and xn centuries. New Greek monasteries
of importance were even founded toward the close of the period.
Such was that established in about 1000 at Grottaferrata near
Rome, by S. Mlus, who had already been at the head of a number
of Greek monasteries in Calabria, a region that continued until
a much later period to swarm with Greek monks and hermits.
We shall now prove that to such establishments as that at Grotta-
ferrata Rome owed the introduction of the style of mosaic decora-
tion in the xn century, thus protracting up to the close of the
Middle Ages the debt that it owed to Byzantium.
MOSAIC DECORATION.
The Byzantine system of decoration in marble low relief
which, as we have already seen, dominated Italy up to the xi
century, was suddenly succeeded and replaced during the xn
century by a magnificent system of mosaic decoration, mainly
employed by the schools of Sicily, Southern Italy and Rome. So
great was the sweep of renovation that almost everywhere, in
order to make way for it, the old Byzantine sculptured plaques
were torn down and often turned about, the smooth side being
used for the mosaic inlay.46 Not only were all the church pave-
ments made of marble mosaics and the walls often decorated with
mosaic friezes of minute glass and marble cubes, but the princi-
pal works of art within the churches were executed in this new
style. Such were the pulpits, paschal candlesticks, altar cano-
pies, choir-screens, altar-fronts, episcopal thrones, choir-seats and
45 The galleries in the church of S. Lorenzo-oulside-the-walls, S. Agnese and SS.
Quattro Coronati, which are unique in Rome, appear to be due to the uniform Byzan-
tine use of such galleries : compare the Byzantine basilicas in Thessalonica.
46 Examples of this fact have come to light during recent years in restoring, for
example, the church of S. Maria in Cosmedin at Rome and the cathedral of Fer-
entino in the province.
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190 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
sepulchral monuments. The similarity of the design in all these
works does not exclude a harmonious but endless variety of form.
The very poetry of ornament is embodied in these works. Re-
naissance decoration appears cold and monotonous beside this
wonderful association of form and color — its forms governed by
^n unwearying inventiveness, its colors chosen with the same
matchless sensitiveness that give their special beauty to all Orien-
tal works, from the wall decorations of S. Sophia to the modern
Persian rug. We become hypnotized by their mazes of the intri-
cate polygonal design, in which, as M. Gayet47 says, in some-
what fantastic language, " image succeeds image, passing and re-
passing like phantoms, with immutable, implacable, immovable
features as figures of a dream," drawn from the essence of things,
and arousing sensations comparable only to those that music
gives us.
While the old and the new systems appear to be so distinct —
even opposite — it is interesting to again emphasize the fact that
we find in the mosaic work the same geometric combinations and
at times the same animal and floral forms as in the earlier relief
work. The best-known of such works have been those in and
about Rome, and the style has even received the name of " Cos-
mati " work, from a group of Roman artists that employed it. The
universally accepted belief in their Roman origin — in which I
shared until about three years ago — has not, I believe, been publicly
opposed, although Mr. Henry Stevenson has expressed himself to
me as opposed to it. Tn order to show the general interest of
the question, I shall again refer to the words of the German
critic, Prof. Springer,48 who believes this system of decoration to
be Roman, and uses this conviction as a decisive argument
against the continuance of Byzantine influence in Sicily after the
Norman conquest. This influence, he says, was thrown off in
Sicily soon after the Arab yoke was removed. The mosaics of Mon-
reale49 show this reaction; sculpture developed with entire inde-
47 VArt Arabe, p. 805.
** Introduction to Kondakoff, Hist, de VArt Byzantin, i, pp. 13-14.
49 Prof. Springer quotes the inscription of a Romanus marmorarius in the cloister
Mo n real e as if the artist were a member of the Roman school. But Romanus is here
the name of the artist, not of the city, and is so good a Byzantine name that we
need not hesitate to regard him as a Greek. Cf., Emperor Romanus Lecapenus.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY, 191
pendence. And this is proved by the absolute identity of the
marble incrustations in the pavements and on the walls of Palermo
and of Rome, showing the strength of Roman influence and tradition
over Southern Italy, and that it soon succeeds in expelling the
Byzantine intrusion. Thus far Professor Springer. Now, the
real conclusion to be drawn is quite different. The identity be-
tween Palermo and Rome is due to the strength and influence
not of Roman, but of Byzantine art, from which both schools
sprang. Sicily and the Neapolitan province on the one hand,
and the Roman school on the other, produced their earliest monu-
ments at about the same time; Rome being a few years in ad-
vance, but the Southern provinces being the first to develop the
style elaborately. The mosaic plaques signed by the Roman
artist Paultis date from about 1100, and are the earliest known:
but when the Sicilian churches were erected, a couple of decades
later, their rich and perfected ornamentation quite surpasses the
contemporary work in the Roman province. There is also an
important difference between the two schools caused by the intro-
duction of Mohammedan influence from Egypt. As we shall see,
the Copts and their Mohammedan scholars in Egypt during the
xi and xn centuries borrowed this same system of decoration
from Byzantine art, and developed its geometric design with a
bewildering elaboration undreamed of by the Byzantine artists.
The Mohammedan share in the Norman art of Sicily is being
slowly recognized : the pointed arch universal in its churches, the
painted ceilings, the stalactite decoration, all come from this
source. From the same source come many of the characteristic
designs of the mosaic incrustations, modifying the simpler Byzan-
tine original forms. The Roman school did not feel this, or
rather it felt it much later and in an indirect way through con-
tact with the Southern school of Campania.
The conclusion to be drawn is that the adoption of this new
form of decoration in the South and in Rome, so far from signal-
izing the triumph of Rome over Byzantium, should be regarded
merely as the replacing of one style of Byzantine decoration by
another — the mosaics in place of the marble reliefs. The main
difference between the two processes lies in the greater inventive-
ness of Egyptian and Italian artists in varying the Byzantine
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192 A. L. FROTHINGHAM, JR.
originals, as compared with the slavishness of their predecessors,,
the sculptors of the vi-xi centuries.
I shall now attempt to prove these statements by examining,
first, the mosaic pavements and then the decorative vertical mo-
saics on the walls and church furniture.
Pavements. — The pavements of this style are probably the most
beautiful ever executed, and appear to have been adopted by
Italian artists slightly earlier than the various kinds of similar
vertical decoration. There is a perfect similarity in style between
the South Italian and the Roman schools, for in both cases the
derivation is from Byzantine originals without Mohammedan
admixture. Almost every church of early foundation in Rome
must have received one during the wholesale rebuilding of the
city during the xn and xin centuries after Robert Guiscard's
destructive attack. There still remain in Rome alone many more
than a hundred such pavements, and they are to be found through
its entire province, from the borders of Tuscany and Umbria to
the neighborhood of Naples. The South has no series that can
compare with this array. In these pavements we find almost every
variety of simply geometrical designs that are to be found on the
vertical mosaics of the Roman school, on walls and other architec-
tural features, such as doorways, cornices, columns, architraves, as
well as on the various articles of church furniture. It would seem
as if the pavements served as models for the vertical decoration.
What makes this the more probable is that in pavements it was
necessary to use natural marbles for the sake of solidity, and only
in very exceptional cases were any artificial cubes employed. So
in the earliest vertical decoration marbles alone are used ; but
gradually, during the latter half of the xn century, the artificial
cubes, smaller, more accurate, and of more varied tones, drove
out the marble cubes, and the artists were then enabled to give
far greater delicacy to their design. And here there comes to be
a difference between the Roman and the South Italian schools,
the former retaining the geometrical forms of the pavements,
while the South Italian added two strong elements — floral designs
that are due to Byzantium, and a more intricate polygonal com-
bination of interminable interwoven lines due to Mohammedan
development of a Byzantine original form.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 193
All the Sicilian pavements belong, I believe, to the xn cen-
tury— though they have been restored in the same style as late as
the Renaissance; those in the cathedrals and churches of the
Neapolitan and Roman provinces extend from the close of the xi
to the xiii century. In Rome it would be difficult to point to a
pavement that could be proved to be earlier than the time of Pascal
II, (1099-1118), although it is not impossible that some may exist
dating from the years immediately preceding his pontificate. It
would appear, therefore, that, at some time in the xi century
nearer its close than its beginning, this system of mosaic pave-
ments, consisting of strips, circles or polygons of fine marbles
surrounded by mosaic bands, was either invented in Italy or in-
troduced from elsewhere.
The style of mosaic pavements in vogue up to the xi century
in Italy was the opus tessellatumy composed of small marble cubes
of equal size. In them were introduced compartments filled with
decorated or figured compositions with real or fanciful animals
and with allegorical, legendary or religious subjects. M. Muntz,
whose short but full sketch50 is the most complete treatise on this
subject, gives a chronological series of these works extending
from the iv or v century to the xn century, when the style ceased
to be generally used, being replaced by the pavements in opus
vcrmiculatum, mistakenly called opus Alexandrinum, which are now
in question.
The earliest Italian series of these pavements in " opus Alexan-
drinum," with which I am acquainted, are those in Venice. They
are also so remarkable for beauty and variety of coloring and for
exquisite gradation of tone as to place them artistically in a class
by themselves. There are a number still remaining in Venice,
but the most beautiful and important are those of San Marco and
the cathedrals of Murano and Torcello. Authorities vary as to
the age of the pavement of San Marco, some attributing it in great
part to the basilica begun in 998, while others regard it as a work
of the xii century, begun only after the wall-mosaics of the domical
church (1040-70) had been well advanced. I am inclined to
agree with the official report of the Commission of 1858, which
50 Published in the Revue Archeologique, and republished with the sub-title, Lea
pavements histories du IVe au XII* Steele in his Etudes iconographiques et areheolo-
giques, 1887.
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194 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
holds that the main pavement follows the lines of what must
have been the earlier basilica, is cut off at the apse, and does
not extend down to the arms of the Greek cross. It must there-
fore be earlier than the total reconstruction of 1040-70, which
changed the church from a Roman basilica to a Greek cross.
The cathedral of Murano was commenced in 998, but its mosaic
pavement was not completed until 1140, as is proved by an in-
scription. At Torcello the cathedral was rebuilt from the foun-
dations in 1008, and the pavement was begun at that time. All
three are therefore works of the xi and early xn centuries. The
patterns of the San Marco pavement can be seen reproduced in
Ongania's great work. In each of these works we see a linger-
ing trace of the old opus tessellatum in stray representations of
doves, stags or other animals and birds, but the style is otherwise
purely geometric, and the predominant form is the circle, around
which are grouped subsidiary forms. A comparison with De
Rossi's Saggi di pavimenti antichi delle chiese di Roma, and with the
outlines in Serradi falcons Duomo di Monreale, and Dehli and Cham-
berlin's Norman Monuments of Palermo, will show substantial
agreement in design between the three groups. The main differ-
ence lies in the fact that the Venetian artists did not care for the
great circles or parallelograms of porphyry and serpentine which
formed the core of the system in the other two schools, but
formed their circles of a large number of radiating sections of
beautifully veined and shaded marbles. In Rome and the South
the effects lie in a contrast of light and shade, very distinct out-
lines, with preponderance of dark and solid slabs set in frame-
work of smaller marbles. Whereas in Venice the choice of
veined and delicately-colored marbles produces an effect of deli-
cious blending. That the other style was also known in Venice
is shown, for example, by a fragment exactly like a thousand to
be found in Rome, now affixed to the further great pier on the
north side. It will be seen later that both the rigid geometric
and the delicately shaded pavements are Byzantine.
Evidently there is a common origin for all three schools, and
as we must look for it in Byzantine monuments, we naturally
turn to the many Greek monasteries in Southern Italy and in
Rome. One of the most famous of these establishments during
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 195
the later Middle Ages was the Basilian monastery at Grotta-
fbrrata, already mentioned as founded by the famous St. Nilus
during the last years of the x century. Of its Byzantine figured
mosaics I wrote some years ago in the Gazette archhlogique (1883).
The church itself was finished and consecrated in 1025 and re-
stored before the middle of the xn century. The ancient mosaic
pavement is of the same type as those of the Roman school:
there is every reason for attributing it to the period of the con-
struction of the church in 1025. Later in the century, in 1066,
took place the famous advent to the great Benedictine centre at
Monte Cassino of artists from Constantinople. Among these
are especially mentioned those skilled in making mosaic pave-
ments, peritos in arte muskiria et quadrataria who totius ecclesiae
pavimentum lapidum varietate consternerent.51 Comm. G. B. de Rossi
is my authority for stating that a piece of this original pavement
of the church at Monte Cassino still remains, I believe in the
sacristy, and that it is of the same style as was afterwards used in
Rome. The chronicler of Abbot Desiderius of Monte Cassino
states that the abbot established a special mosaic atelier in the
monastery, placing a number of young men under the instruction
of the mosaicists from Constantinople, in order to spread this
branch of art and prevent it from dying out in Italy. Thus un-
doubtedly was the crusade in favor of mosaic decoration started.
These two works at Grottaferrata and Monte Cassino are, then,
earlier than any others known in Italy. If wre realize the breadth
of Benedictine influence spreading from its capital at Monte Cas-
sino, combined with the Basilian influence radiating from Grot-
61 Legatos interea Constantinopolim ad locandos artifice* destinat, peritos utique in
arte musiaria et quadrataria, ex quibus videlicet alii absidam et arcum atque vcstibu-
lum maioris basilicae musivo comerent, alii vero totius ecclesiae pavimentum diver-
sorum lapidum varietate consternerent. Quorum artium tunc ei destinati magistri
cuius perfectionis extiterint, in eorum est operibus estimari, cum et in musivo anima-
tor fere autumet se quisque figuras et quaeque virentia cernere, et in marmoribus
omnigenum colorum fiores pulchra putet diver sitate vernare. Et quoniam artium
istarum ingenium a quingentis et ultra iam annis magistra Latinitas intermiserat, et
studio huius inspirante et cooperanle Deo, nostro hoc tempore recuperare promeruit,
ne sane id ultra Italiae deperiret studuit vir totius prudentiae plerosque de monasterii
pueris diligenter eisdem artibus erudiri. Non tamen de his tantum, sed et de omni-
bus artificiis quaecumque ex auro vel argento, acre, ferro, vitro, ebore, ligno, gipso, vel
lapide patrari possunt, siudiosissimos prorsus artifices de suis sibi paravit. This
text is from the contemporary chronicle entitled Leonis, Chronica Monasterii Casi-
nensis, 1. in, 27. Ed. Wattenbach in Mon. Germ. Hist. p. 718.
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196 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
taferrata and other principal Greek establishments, we have an
ample explanation of the rapid adoption of the newly introduced
style in this part of Italy. If now we can find in the Byzantine
Orient examples of this style contemporary or earlier in date,
there would no longer be the least doubt.
In a number of the old Coptic churches in Cairo there are
pavements and friezes and other decorative work in marble
mosaic of this style ; and although it is extremely difficult to give
any exact dates, Mr. Butler, who describes some examples in his
Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt, assigns them to the x and xi
centuries. No description of these pavements has been published,
to my knowledge, but I have it on the authority of an observing
friend that their style is exactly that of the Roman School. The
early churches on Mt. Athos, whose foundation dates from the
late x and the course of the xi century, although to a large ex-
tent reconstructed and redecorated, retain their mosaic pavements,
which are regarded by those who have studied them carefully to
belong to the original structures. We reproduce (Pl. xiii) from
Didron's Annales archeologiques (Vol. xxi), a section of pavement
from beneath the dome of the main church in the monastery of
Iviron. The design is precisely such as is found in the churches
of Southern Italy and Rome, and is not of the Venetian type.
On the same plate (xin, 2) we have given a slab from S. Prassede,
Rome, to show the close similarity in design. Brockhaus52 dates
the Iviron pavement in about 976, a date which is proved beyond
a doubt by the inscription on a bronze ring that encircles the
central porphyry slab and records the construction of the church.
Its importance warrants giving it here in full : 'Eyco earepeaxra rots
(TtvXov? avrf}?, fcal h (€&) rov al&va ov <ra\evdq<reTai. Ted>pyio<?
/jLovaxb? 6 "I/3r)p teal ferijroop : " J hare made fast its pillars, and
it will not be shaken to all eternity. The monk George, the Ivirite
and Founder" This George was a contemporary of St. Athan-
asios, the friend of the Emperor Nikephoros Phokas and the real
founder of Mt. Athos, who began the monastery of Lawra in 963
a. d. The monastery of Iviron was founded in 976 by Joannea
Tornikios and his Iberian relatives, Euthymios and Georgios,
with the help of the Empress Theophano. Contemporary with
M Hkinbich Brockhaus, Die Kunsi in den Athos- Klbstern, 1891.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 197
the pavement of Iviron is that of the church of the monastery of
Vatopedi, founded after 972, at the request of St. Athanasios by
three inhabitants of Adrianople — Athanasios, Nikolaos and Anto-
nios. The pavement of the church of Xenophontos belongs ap-
parently to the first half of the xi century ; that of the church
of Chilandari to about 1197. These mosaic pavements were, it
would seem, used in all the churches erected on Mt. Athos dur-
ing the period of its early bloom (x-xn centuries). As was com-
monly the case at Rome a great cross divided the pavement into
four main sections, each with its series of porphyry circles. Al-
though there was certainly a current established at this time
between Mt. Athos and Italy, and artists may have gone to the
peninsula from the sacred mount, it must be retfiembered that
at the beginning there was no special artistic school at Mt.
Athos : it did not develop until the xn and xiii centuries.
The artistic style of its early monuments may, therefore, be taken
to be that of Constantinople. St. Athanasios was the confessor
and intimate friend of that remarkable man, Nikephoros Phokas,
before and after his accession to the throne. The emperor him-
self urged on and assisted in the building of the first monastery
erected by St. Athanasios, that of Lawra. It is interesting to
note that the reorganizing of the Byzantine domain in Southern
Italy, the foundation there of several important cities peopled
with colonists from Greece, the multiplication of Greek monas-
teries, are all due to this same emperor, Nikephoros Phokas. It
may be that on this occasion, with the coming of Greek artists,
the new style of mosaic work was first introduced.
It is, therefore, in the great constructions of the capital, Con-
stantinople, that we must seek for the earliest pavements of this
style, the predecessors and prototypes of those of Mt. Athos and of
Italy. Unfortunately the few early fragments of pavements that
still exist are either in a slightly different style, in so far as they
have been described and illustrated, or are of uncertain date,
and not having visited Constantinople, I cannot speak from per-
sonal observation. But at this point documentary evidence is at
hand, so abundant and specific as to leave no doubt as to the
fact that the great monuments of the Macedonian dynasty, from
the ix to the xi century, were paved in this style. Our main
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198 A. L. FROTHIXGHAM, JR.
source is Constantine Porphyrogenetos, who wrote in the x cen-
tury a description of the buildings erected by his grandfather,
Basil I, and of the various other parts of the imperial palace.
From his description we gather that in the ix century, in the times
of Theophilos (829-42) and Basil I (867-86), pavements were
undergoing a transformation in Constantinople, passing from the
figured and tessellated to the geometric style. But before this
time we can trace its beginning as far back as the time of Justin-
ian. In the vestibule of the imperial palace, called Chalke, was a
mosaic pavement in whose centre was a large circle of porphyry
called to 6fii<l>d\t,ov, upon which certain public acts or ceremonies
were performed.53 This is, with one exception, the earliest in-
stance that I can cite of such a disk with a significance attached
to it. A possibly earlier instance occurs in Agnellus' (ix century)
lives of the archbishops of Ravenna, in the life of Ursus, who built
the cathedral in about 400 a. d. He is said to have been buried
under the porphyry slab on which the archbishops are accustomed
to stand when they say mass — pirfiretlcum lapidem, ubi pontifex stat
quando missam canit. It is interesting to note that the omphalia
or porphyry disks became the most important element in the later
geometric pavements. They were used in the pavements of the
imperial palace, being often placed in front of the thrones, and
upon them the emperors stood during certain ceremonies. When
the emperor appeared in the Heliakon he stood on the porphyry
circle and the patricians, generals and senators prostrated them-
selves before him. In other cases the procession of advancing
nobles would stoop and kiss each circle as it approached the
emperor. This importance given to the porphyry disks was not
confined to civil structures ; it passed, as we have seen above, into
the ceremonial of the Roman Church. They were the most
sacred spots in the churches. It is noticeable that such disks are
always to be found along the central nave of the churches of the
xi, xii and xiii centuries. The part they played can be imagined
from one example. The Ordo Romanics5* gives the order for the
ceremonies connected with the coronation of the emperors by the
M Procopius, De aedijiciis.
M Monum. German, hist., Leges n, p. 187. Text of the Ooronatio Rornana, as pre-
served by Cencius Camerarius in the Liber Censuum.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 199
popes in the basilica of St. Peter. After both emperor and pope
have entered the church, the pope takes his seat by the central
disk, surrounded by the clergy, and before him are the emperor
with his court, all seated about the disk, while the emperor makes
his confession of faith. The Bishop of Porto, standing in the
centre of the disk, then pronounces a prayer. The ceremony of
anointing the emperor, and the giving to him the ring, crown
and sceptre, took place at the altar of S. Maurice, and the
principal persons present stand each in the centre of a disk —
namely, the emperor, the empress and six bishops. It is especially
stated in the Ordo, which apparently dates from the xn century,
that this is done according to ancient usage — a usage probably
dating in Home to the x century, when it may have been bor-
rowed from Byzantium to do service in the coronation of Otho I.5*
When, in the viii century, Torcello was built up, the new
cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin, was decorated with a pave-
ment in the centre of which was a disk which for its size and
beauty was so famous that the neighboring quarter of the town
was called from it, quarter of the " rota."56
The only part remaining of the ancient pavement of the nave
of St. Sophia contains a number of these disks grouped, as they
were later, around a large central circle of granite. The church
of St. John, in Constantinople, which dates from the fifth cen-
tury, has a pavement partly in the geometric style, illustrated in
Salsenberg : its date is probably later than that of the construc-
tion of the church. Emperor Justinianos Rhinotmeros (HH 711)
made a pavement for the gallery which he added to the palace,
and it is known to have been based upon a combination of large
and small disks. In the next century, under Theophilos and
Basil I, the art of mosaic pavements was developed to a point of
great beauty and magnificence. We may confidently assert, from
a study of the texts, that the famous New Basilica erected by*
55 1 would call attention to the use of such porphyry disks in the pavements of
Roman buildings, such as the baths of Caracal la, although I cannot say whether in
pagan times any corresponding significance was attached to them.
86 The Chronicon Oradense, (xi cent.), says : Basilicam fundaverunt in h&nore
sancte Dei genetricis et Virginia Margie pulcherrimo pavimento omatum, cuius me-
dium pulchritudine sua rota quedam admodum decor abat^ unde omnia habitatio qui
ipsi ecclesiae proximo, erat ab Aurio tribuno Rota appellate fuit.
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200 A. L. FROTHINOHAM, JR.
Basil I received a pavement analogous in style but' superior in
beauty to those executed later at Mt. Athos and in Italy. Its
artists, however, did not exclude animal and floral forms, but
worked them into the geometric design; and a relic of this cus-
tom is to be found later in the pavements at Venice already de-
scribed. The pavement of the throne room of the imperial pal-
ace, made from the designs of the Emperor Constantine Por-
phyrogenetos (HH 959) himself, was probably the most exquisite
of any in its gradations of colors and variety of design, and prob-
ably nothing in the West resembles it except the pavements of
Venice.57 It may have been surpassed by the pavement of the
church of the Palace built by Basil the Macedonian (867-86),
which is described in glowing terms by his contemporary Photius,
and his grandson Constantine, who say that it seems covered with
silk brocades and purple carpets, so embellished is it with the
thousand shades of the marble plaques that form it, by the varied
aspect of its mosaic bands which form the borders of these
plaques, by the exquisite grouping of its compartments, etc.
For fuller details of the various pavements in the halls and
churches of the palace consult Labarte, Le Palais imperial, and the
original texts of Constantine's work on ceremonial and his de-
scription of the palace in his life of Basil.
This demonstration of the Byzantine origin of the Italian me-
diaeval geometric pavements will seem all the more complete
when supported by proofs of a similar origin for the vertical
mosaic decoration of walls, columns, friezes and all articles of
church furniture.
Vertical Mosaics. — The origin of vertical mosaic decoration is
slightly later and its patterns appear to have been derived from
those of the pavements. In fact, in the earliest examples of the
Roman School the design would give no clue as to which cate-
gory the work belonged to. In the beginning only natural marbles
were used, as in the pavements. This was the case in the Roman
and South Italian as well as in the Coptico-Mohammedan School
of Egypt. Very soon the Byzantine School began to introduce
the glass and composition cubes that were in use in figured mo-
67 The descriptions are given in Photius1 address and in Constantine Porphy-
uogenetoe.
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 201
sales, and the Italian Schools followed this example at the close
of the xn and the beginning of the xiii centuries. The Egyptian
Schools retained the natural marbles and they also, in their love
of geometric design, transferred the same pattern to other mate-
rials— to inlaid relief and open work in wood, ivory and metal,
to tiles and plaster. A special branch of this general system of
•decoration was developed by the Moorish art of Spain and be-
came the favorite ornament at Granada, Seville and Cordova. By
this Moorish School the design, though almost identical, was car-
ried out in enamelled tiles and plaster. While in Italy this style
declined before 1300 and disappeared shortly after, in Spain it
flourished through the xiv century and in Egypt even later.
The Roman School appears, to the best of our knowledge, to have
produced the earliest examples in Italy. The shrine of S. Cas-
sianus in the Cathedral of Narni appears to me a primitive work
and one of great interest. The first work, however, that can
be dated is an altar -front in the Cathedral of Ferentino,
-executed under Paschal II (1099-1013) by Paulus, the founder of
the earliest of the famous family schools of Roman artists, who
were to adopt the new style, develop it and make it their greatest
title to fame during a period of two centuries.
About contemporary with this work are some fragments of the
•decoration of the church of the Greek monastery at Grottaferrata
near Rome, whose pavement was mentioned above : one of these
fragments, with a Greek inscription, has the date 1132. The
earliest examples in Sicily and Southern Italy are not earlier than
1120 to 1130 ; such as the decoration of the Cappella Palatina
and the Martorana at Palermo, the Cathedral of Cefalu, and, a
few years later, the Cathedrals of Salerno and Ravello.
While the first Roman monuments are somewhat earlier in
date than the earliest of the Southern Schools, it is important to
note that the Roman School shows at first extreme simplicity and
derives the designs of its vertical mosaics entirely from the pave-
ments, developing slowly and without external influence into a
richer and more varied style with the introduction of glass cubes
and an increased proportion of elaborate designs in connection with
the simple large slabs of marble which were at first the chief
part of the ornamentation.
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202
A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
On the other hand the Southern Schools . show only exception-
ally a similar independent development. In Sicily the first mon-
uments are the most beautiful and elaborate, and those executed
later in the xn century are less perfect : the style appears to be
borrowed bodily from some other school and land. Now, there
were but three art influences then at work in Sicily — the North-
ern (Lombard and Norman) — which we may dismiss in this con-
nection— the Byzantine and the Mohammedan. In the sphere of
mosaics Byzantine influence reigned supreme in figured composi-
tions. Did it also furnish the models for decorative mosaics ? It
appears to have done so for the church pavements, but on the
other hand we are compelled to recognize the Mohammedan in-
fluence in the decorative mosaics which cover the lower parts of
the walls in all the Sicilian churches, and in long bands surround
the doors and rise to the ceiling (as at Monreale). Decorative
work of a similar but less elaborate sort is to be found in Byzan-
tine monuments. An example of this is the frieze that encircles
the interior of the Church of the Saviour (Kachrije Djami) at
Fig. 25.— From Band of Mosaic Decoration Encircling Interior of Ch. of Saviour
(Kachrije Djami), Constantinople.
Constantinople (Fig. 25). This resembles in its simplicity the
style of the Roman rather than that of the South Italian School.
It dates either from the construction of the church in the xi cen-
tury or its restoration during the xiii century. But while
such decoration held but a small place in the Byzantine art to'
which its invention is due, it received a wonderful expansion at
the hands of Mohammedan art, especially in Egypt. The Chris-
tian Copts, who always formed the bulk of the artists of Egypt
under Mohammedan rule, developed the intricacies of geometrical
decoration with passionate love and unwearying patience. It was
marble mosaic that furnished them their best medium of expres-
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 203
sion in this branch of art. Mr. Butler's book on Coptic Churches
has disclosed the existence of a number of works belonging, ac-
cording to him, to the ix, x and xi centuries, before the style
came into use in Italy at all. The recently published description
of the Churches of Egypt, written in the xn century, appears to
confirm the dates. Such early works are : the pulpit at the
church of Abu-Sifain at Cairo, the apsidal decoration of the
large and small chapels of Al-Muallakat at Cairo, described by
Mr. Butler and attributed by him to about the x century. This
early date for the Coptic mosaics seems confirmed not only by their
primitive character but by the fact that Mohammedan buildings
of Egypt of the close of the x and the early part of the xi, built
and decorated by Coptic artists, show the beginnings of the same
geometric style, which was developed into so wonderfully beauti-
ful and complex a system during the succeeding centuries. I
have no space here to do more than refer to this Egyptian School.
Its works can be studied in special publications* Can the de-
rivation of the Italian from the Oriental style be satisfactorily
proved from the monuments themselves ?
Studying the question broadly, the Roman and Neapolitan
Schools appear to have been founded under the sole influence of
Byzantium ; the Sicilian School under that of Mohammedan and
Coptic Egypt ; and, some time after, the Sicilian School exercised
a transforming influence upon the Neapolitan, and a very slight
influence upon the Roman School, toward the close of the xn
century.
I shall first bring forward some proofs of the derivation of the
Roman School from Byzantine originals. We have already seen
that this was clearly the case in the mosaic pavements. The most
interesting examples, proving the fact to be equally true for vertical
mosaics, are in the Church of St. Lucia at Gaeta, and have hitherto
been unnoticed and unpublished. This church, which earlier
went by another name, is a basilica of early date consisting
of a nave and side-aisles separated by round arches resting
upon ancient columns and capitals, nearly all of them misfits.
The pavement appears to have been originally of early mosaic
work and only a small section of it remains in the choir. The
58 Pris8E D'Avennes, Monuments du Caire. Gayet, L] Art Arabe, $c.
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204 A. L. FROTHIKQHAM, JR.
church has been barbarously mutilated, so that only a small part
of its primitive mosaic decoration remains. Against the wall
which closes the side aisles, beside the main apse, is placed on both
sides a parapet of marble inlaid with marble mosaics and divided
into square compartments each containing a figure carved in high
relief in white marble (Plate xiv). This parapet was cut through,
in order to make room for the hideous marble altar placed at the
end of each aisle, and what remains has suffered badly from damp-
ness. The work is very characteristic; it is in fact unique and
of extremely primitive character. In the section which is pre-
served in the left aisle, we see in the upper square the eagle of
St. John, its head surrounded by a circular nimbus and holding
in its claws a book. In the compartment below it is the figure of
a Siren, half fish and half woman, who holds in both hands her
emblem — a small fish. In the section placed on the right>hand
side aisle, the upper compartment contains the angel of St. Mat-
thew and below is a winged griffin. Two compartments without
sculpture still remain in part on either side of these sculptured
squares. It is evident that before mutilation this parapet con-
tained other sculptured compartments at least equal in number to
those remaining, with the lion of St. Mark and the bull of St.
Luke and other symbols corresponding to the Siren and the Grif-
fin. The first peculiarity of this work that strikes anyone familiar
with the decorative system of the Italian Schools is that the
sculpture does not belong to any of the early Italian Schools, but
has all the marked characteristics of the Byzantine style of the
close of the x and the first half of the xi century. The ivory
boxes and book covers, the works in gold, silver and enamel
produced during this period by Greek artists, form the only base
of comparison with this work. The angel of St. Matthew has all
the refinement of type and softness of technique characteristic of
the Byzantine works of this date. At this time nothing but the
crudest and most barbarous works were being executed in Italy.
This date is confirmed by several other data. In the first place
the church is known to have been completed in about 1020 and it is
probable that the decoration was finished at that date ; then also it
must be remembered that the city of Gaeta, one of the most im-
portant seaports of Southern Italy, was for a number of centuries
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ITALY AND ROME. 205*
under Byzantine dominion and partly colonized by Greeks ; that
even when its consuls became practically independent, the connec-
tion with the empire of the East was not wholly broken. The
presence of Byzantine artists in the city is proved, among other
facts, by the erection of one of the few thoroughly Byzantine
domical churches that can be found in Southern Italy outside of
Calabria, the church of St. Giuseppe, which is illustrated by
Schultz. The old cathedral, according to an inscription of later
date, was built by one of these consuls named John, who is called
in this inscription, Imperial Patrician, son of Docivilis, the con-
sul (hypatos). The date of this ruler is the beginning of the x
century.
Further proofs of early date and of Byzantine origin can
be discovered in the workmanship of the parapet. In the
first place, there is the uncertainty of a beginner in the use of
colors and design, while the general scheme is excellent. The
combinations of color are not yet effected with that degree of
skill in the contrast of color and the variety of form, which are
soon attained at a later date with greater practice. The colors
are dull and they are principally red and green with the occa-
sional use of yellow. It is interesting to note, every now and
then, the use of occasional artificial cubes of enamel, especially
of blue, gold, red and light green. I think that this intro-
duction of glass and enamel cubes at so early a period, is a
further proof of Byzantine workmanship. The use of decorative
sculpture and a raised carved frame for the mosaic compartments is
also a peculiarity unknown to native Italian artists and practised by
Byzantine art. In the right-hand side aisle there remains a sec-
tion (three sides) of the lectern of the pulpit of the church, of
marble inlaid with mosaics of the same technique and general de-
sign as the balustrade and with similar occasional mixture of
artificial cubes ; here also the general design is excellent and the
details crude.
The importance of Gaeta from its position and its history is
evident; it lay upon the borderland between the Roman and the
Southern Schools. Its history made it a centre of Byzantine influ-
ences and such works as those decorating the church of St. Lucia
may easily have inspired both the Roman and the Southern
schools with their first desire to adopt this style of decoration.
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206 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
We will now examine the monuments of the Southern School
for similar traces and will give in Plate xv a view of one of the
finest groups, — the large pulpit, the paschal candlestick and part
of the pulpit staircase and screen at Salerno. In studying the
design of the magnificent series of mosaic works of the xn and
xni centuries at Sessa, Salerno, Amalfi and Kavello, and in com-
paring them with Sicilian works, one of the first steps is to divide
the themes of decoration into classes. There appear to be two
main divisions : (1) a floral design of Byzantine origin consisting
of scroll work intermingled with animals and birds ; and (2) geo-
metrical designs which in their simplest form were also Byzan-
tine in origin, but in their more elaborate development were
thoroughly dependent upon Egypt. There was one decorative
motif, which appeared to stand outside of these two classes and
to be quite popular, especially in Sicily. It was a frieze of what
appeared like battlements ending in a sort of fleur-de-lis, as is
shown in Figure 29. I was very much puzzled to interpret this
motif and to explain its origin, until I found that it was in
universal use in Egypt. Such a battlemented frieze was invented
by Coptic and Mohammedan artists as a finish to the exterior of
their buildings (Figs. 26, 27). It is employed by them first as an
architectural and sculptural form and gradually finds its way as a
purely decorative motif into flat surfaced decoration in inlaid
marble, stucco and marble relief, etc., (Figs. 28, 29). The architec-
tural derivation is so plain, that as no such architectural ornament
<;an be found in Italian architecture, the Egyptian derivation of
the form is incontestible. The Sicilian examples at the Cappella
Palatina (Fig. 30) and Monreale (Fig. 31) are far closer to the
Egyptian original design : the South Italian imitations, at Salerno,
(Fig. 32) for instance, show that the artists are here further from
the original source. While it may possibly be argued that the geo-
metrical combinations have been invented by Italian artists with-
out necessarily having recourse to Oriental models, I think that
the use of this peculiar and essentially Oriental design in the Sicil-
ian and Southern Italian Schools, while it may seem a small mat-
ter in itself, is sufficient to remove any doubt that they were not
only inspired from Egypt, but that their style was an absolute
importation. A strong confirmation of this lies in the fact
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BYZANTINE ART AND CULTURE IN ROME AND ITALY. 207
that every geometric combination, no matter how intricate, that
can be found in the South Italian and Sicilian Schools, while often
absent from the Roman works, can also be found in Egypt.
There are some works of the early Neapolitan School, such as
the first pulpit at the Cathedral of Salerno and the pulpit at the
monastic church of La Cava, which show what the style of the
school was before it was influenced by the Sicilian School. Such
Fig. 26.— Stone Battle-
ments of Mosque of
Sultan Hassan, Caibo.
{From Franz Pasha,
Bank. cL Islam).
Fio. 27.— Battlements of
Mosque of Sultan El-
Ghuri, Cairo. (From
Franz Pasha).
Fiq. 2a— From Arch of Mihrab in
Marble Opus ScztiU, in Abhar
Mosque, Cairo.
Fio. 29.— Inlaid Marble Decor-
ation of Mihrab of the Muay-
yed Mosque, Cairo. (From
Franz Pasha).
Fio. 30.— From Mosaic Dado
in Cappblla Palatina at
Palermo.
Fio. 31.— From Mosaic Dado of
Chancel at Monrealb, near
Palermo.
Fio. 32.— From Mosaic Pulpit
Screen, Cathedral of Salerno.
works date from between 1150 to 1170, but as soon as the com-
pletion of the first great series) of churches in Sicily, left a large
number of artists — Arabs, Copts and Greeks — free to prosecute
other labors, they undoubtedly were called or sent native pupils
to different parts of the southern mainland and revolutionized the
more simple style then prevalent. All works executed after 1190-
1200 are in the new style.
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208 A. L. FROTHINQHAM, JR.
Recurring to my assertion that the floral designs in vertical
mosaics seem to have been of Byzantine origin, I will refer to
one description of such decoration in the buildings at Constanti-
nople dating from the ix century. Constantine describes the
beautiful mosaic pavement of the Emperor Basil's bed-room, and
then says that the lower part of the wall on all sides was covered
not with plaques of various marbles, but with cubes of glass of
many colors representing varied floral designs. The text of the
Monte Cassino chronicle cited on p. 195 (Note 51) lays great
stress upon the ability of the mosaicists from Constantinople in
executing floral decoration of every variety interspersed with ani-
mals, and thus shows how this element of the style acquired a
foothold in Italy. Illuminated Byzantine mss. of this and the
following centuries are full of this floral scroll work, with birds*
and animals, and similar work is found on the contemporary
ivory boxes and enamels.
Italy was, then, a reflection of the Orient in this branch of
mosaic decoration, and it usually fell short of its models ; it lost
the suppleness, the variety and the softness of Byzantine design,
and in the use of geometric patterns to which it confined itself
it attained only exceptionally to that perfection which we find in
Egypt and in Sicily.
[ To be continued.']
A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
Princeton, January, 1895.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE XVI
A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE ATTIC EPAKRIA.
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PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ATHENS.
A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA.
[plate XVI.]
In the excavations at Koukounari, in the Attic Epakria, a re-
port of which will be given in the Fourteenth Annual Report of the
American School of Classical Studies at Athens, we had the good
fortune to find at the end of the first half-hour of work an import-
ant inscription.
This is cut on a stele of Pentelic marble, in letters averaging
.006 m. in height. Beta runs up to a height of .008 m., while
Omicron is only .004 m. high. The extra height of Beta is doubt-
less due to the fact that only so could it well be cut without
making mere breaks in the place of the two loops.
The stele was inscribed on both sides, but only on the side
which we found turned downward and resting on a large thresh-
old, and which is here represented, could anything be read. A
few traces of letters on the other side, from which with some
probability the word oh may be made out, and some price-marks,
show that the same subject was treated on that side.
The side here given contains parts of fifty-six lines, although
the first line affords only two letters. How much of the stone is
broken off above and below cannot be told. At the sides the
original edge is preserved, so that we know that the taper of the
stele was very slight, giving a breadth at the bottom of the pave-
ment of .49 m. and at the top of .485 m. The length is .60 m.
The thickness varies between .10 m. and .06 m. being thinner at the
top and toward the right, so that there is a distinct slope toward
the right upper corner when the stone is laid on the table for
reading. There is a break on the right at the top, leaving a gap
which ends with the 21st line, the 22d line being entire at the
end. At the 4th line the gap is 1.05 m. wide. Toward the bottom
209
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
*c
to
3
3
lO
8
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA.
211
3
3
5
s
IS
3
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212 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
of the gap it becomes easy to supply missing letters. On the
left side, although the edge of the stone remains, there is a sur-
face break of varying width running down the whole length. It
is .06 m. wide at the 7th line, .115 m. at the 47th, .09 m. at the
5 2d. A maximum of twelve letters is missing where this gap is
widest ; but as the inscription is not cut stoiehedon, there is in
most cases a choice ranging between nine letters and twelve.
The inscribed surface of the stone is .39 m. broad at the 23d line
and .40 m. broad at lines 52-54.
A curious feature of the inscription is that it is divided very
unevenly into two columns, the right-hand column being about
double the width of the left-hand column. Furthermore, the
columns overlap somewhat, and some lines look as if they ran?
continuously across the stone, there being absolutely no interven-
ing space between the last letter of the first column line and the
first letter of the second column line.
The rightrhand column may practically be read entirely. The
left-hand column is more difficult to restore than might be ex-
pected with the help afforded by the other column. But even
here a good deal may be provisionally supplied. ]ovy8ary, in line
50, is especially tantalizing.
Restorations, Column 1.
2. ir\pcucTripLo<; is used as an epithet of Tt^, Aesch. Supply 523.
4 ft*. Tpfrr)?, which entails the following month names, was sug-
gested by TcrdpTT)*;, 20. But, as at 27-29 a quarter is omitted in
the enumeration, the restoration is not certain. It fills the space,
however, better than Sem^pa?, with the month names of the
second quarter.
25. TpiTy is given simply as one way of filling the space.
26. 'AirdWewi1 is demanded by the space, whereas in 34 there
is room only for AU or t£.
39. BpafjLoavvrj is probable, but we know next to nothing of the
connection at this point.
52. Ati Eu/8]o\€t would naturally be supplied, except that it
would not fill the whole space.
55. 'AOrjpaia 'EXXwJT^St seems the only proper restoration.
1#AT©T/>toraiof as epithet of Apollo, Ar. Vesp. 161 ; Av. 61 ; Plut. 869, 864.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA. 213
Column 2.
5. jjLvorriptov is corroborated by its connection with BorjSpo-
13, 15. oh Abh is selected simply as one way of filling up the
space.
17. Frj brl rq> is somewhat crowded, but as Trj appears in 13
with this epithet, and as she was essentially a mantic divinity
(Of. Aesch. JEum., 2, t^i> irpcoTOfiavTip Falav), the reading may
well stand. It is also difficult to get a name shorter than Fy.
19, 20. The difficulty of supplying the five or six missing let-
ters at the end of 19 is increased by the fact that the clear N E
at the beginning of 20 seem cut with the point ot a knife, mere
scratches, while X, given as the next letter, is quite doubtful.
The first line which is really of account (line 2), with the help
of line 23, tells us that the demarch of the Marathonians sacri-
fices something. We soon see that we have a series of offerings
to divinities with prices and certain specified dates. All the
Attic months except Maimakterion are mentioned.2 The year is
divided into quarters (rptfjLrjvoi). At lines 34 and 40 there is a
division of the sacrifices into to erepov ero?, irporepa Bpafioavvrj
and to (hepov ero?, xxrripa Spafjuxrvvrj. The word Spa/xoavurj, so far
as I know, is not used elsewhere. It is probably a ritualistic
term, and may be translated " course." 3 to erepov ero? probably
means " the alternate year." The " first course " is to begin at
once, and the " second course " the next year, and they are to
alternate.4
The first question in regard to the inscription is whether it is a
sacrificial calendar of offerings to be made, or a record of offer-
ings already made. The minute account, descending to such
* We have in line 51 the settlement of the date of the festival called Skira, in the
month Skirophorion, which calls for a correction of Liddell and Scott (Lex., 7th
ed., s. v. 2*/pa), and of Mommsen, Heortologie, p. 287 ff., which put it in Py-
anepsion.
8 It is probably derived from dpd<a. With the same right as that by which we
have from the stem Virpo? rpdyfxa and TroXvwpayiioctrr), we may have from Vfyl
dpa dpafjwrtrr) as well as dpdfxa.
* In the inscription from Cos in Jour, of Hell. Studies, ix, p. 828, we have three
times (at lines 10, 14 and 22), after one provision for sacrifice, another offering pre-
scribed with the phrase rt ft &repov Iros.
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214 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
details as half obols, and the indicative mode of the verbs, make
it look at first sight as if we had one of those accurate Attic
accounts of expenditures so well known from the Corpus.5 But
in spite of this there seems no reason to take it as anything else
than one of those sacrificial calendars, of which there were a
great number at Athens, mentioned by Lysias in the oration
against Nicomachus, as well known.6 Such calendars must
have been common enough at every place where sacrifice was-
made on a large scale. We have several fragments of such calen-
dars from various places. Notable are the following : 7
Fragments from Myconus, Dittenberger, Sylloge, No. 373.
Fragments from Cos, Jour, of Hell. Studies, vol. ix, p. 323 ff.
CIA. i, 4, 5. 533, 534. nl, 610, 631, 632. m1, 77.
Inscr. in Brit. Mus., i, 73.
The general similarity of the whole group makes it difficult to
separate any of them as belonging to a different class. The in-
dicative mode is used in the Cos and Myconus calendars, inter-
spersed among the greater bulk of imperatives and infinitives.
A sum of twenty drachmas for victims is mentioned in the Myc-
onus calendar, and in CIA. nl, 610 and 631, the prices are given
with much the same minuteness of detail as here.
In this inscription, <w9 yeypairrai of line 15, looks like a provis-
ion to which conformity is to be exacted. Similarly in the Cos
calendar stands *V4a o& icvevaa teal Upa Haaairep tov UeSayeiTvtov
yeypairrai.
The following is a list of the divinities to whom offerings are
made:
ykQi)vala 'EXXwr/St.
9 A/cd/jLaaiv.
9Axaia.
TaXiy.
r$.
r# iy 7WU9.
Ty iv Kvvo<rovpa.
Tfj errl rq> /tame i(p.
> E.g., CIA. II*, 835, 836.
• Lys.} xxx. 17. Oriei* tAj Owrlai 4k tv>v Kvpfkuv koX tQp <rrri\Qv wrA tAs ffvyypaQ&s.
1 Cf. J. Prott, Fasti Oraecorum Sacri.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA. 215
Aa/pa.
Ail avOaXel.
Ad 6pL<p.
Atl \nrdr<p.
^Xevaivia.
'Hpa.
"Hpy.
T£ "Hp<p.
"Hp<p <&r)pa(<p.
"Hp<p irapa to 'EWdtmov.
"Hp<p iv . pacCKela.
fHpa>(vy.
'16\€<p.
KSpy.
KopOTp6<f)<£.
Mo {pais.
Neauta.
Nv/JL<f>q EieZ.
TeXerrj.
TpiTOirarpevo-i.
X\6y irapa ra MeiSvXov.
]o\et.
]ovy8ary.
"\irapk rov irvpyov.
yjrapa to 'Hpd/cXeiov.
]7rapa to 'YLXevalvLov.
]t£ h> Kvvoaovpa.
]ei> ayopa.
'Aw'jOTpOTraiq).
YV\paicrqpC(p.
It will be seen at once that the main interest of the inscription
lies in its large number of interesting and unusual names. Some
of them, so far as I have been able to ascertain, do not occur
elsewhere. Such are :
Zeu9 avOaXevs,
Trj iy yvais.
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216 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
NeaWa9.
Nvft^77 Eufc.
"H/do>9 <$>7)pcuo<;.
Tdkios.
'AvOaXev? presents Zeus apparently in the role of a former,
which fits well the rurality in which the whole inscription is
steeped. Trj iy yvais, a phrase comparable to Aidwaos iv A//u><u9,
is another case in point. Evk is easily seen to be derived from
the Bacchic cry, but who is Neav&w ? Td\io<t and "H/w»9 &7)palo$
are equally obscure. Possibly some light may come on the latter
name from the fact that Artemis had the surname &r)paCa at Argos
and Sicyon.8 There is also a quaint doubling of some persons.
'A/ca/Ltain-69 seems unheard of. Perhaps it is equivalent to
'A/cafidvTtSai. T piroirarpeh is less striking, as we have the plu-
ral in CIA. ii2, 1062.9 But Cicero 10 speaks of Tritopatreus as
the brother of Dionysus and Eubouleus. Is it possible that
Aa<f>vTj(j>6poi, in line 38, is a similar plural for Apollo and one or
more doubles ? In that case the dative might be explained on
the supposition of the omission of the mention of the victim, as in
line 4 after rpdireZa, and in 32 after oh, the price is omitted, per-
haps by carelessness of the stone-cutter.
'EXXwtA, as an epithet of Athena, has a flavor of antiquity. It
carries us back at least as far as the Phoenicians. It was a name
of Europa ll as 'EXkdnia was the name of a festival in Crete.12 It
was also the old name of Gortyna in Crete.13 The same may be
said of 'Yrnywo?, for 'Yrrqvia was the ancient name of the Mara-
thonian Tetrapolis.14 'A^a/a, as an epithet of Demeter, the
" mourning mother," and Aatpa, as an epithet of Persephone,15 are
at least rare. The same may also be said of Kovporp6<f>o<; as a
substantive, although it is common enough as an epithet of Ge,16
•Paus., ii, 23, 5.
9 Mitt. Deutsch. Arch. Inst Athen, iv (1879), p. 287.
10 De Nat. Deorum, in, 58.
11 Et. Mag., 8. v. 'EXXorrh. " HESYCHIUS, b. v. 'EXXorrfe.
"Steph. Btz., 8. v. T6prvp.
u Ibid, 8. v. Terp&wokit. See W. Gurlitt, De Tetrapoli Attica.
u Persephone appears again under her usual name, K6pij, and Demeter probably
under the name 'EXewt via and XX6iy, if not under Kovporptxpos.
M Pahs., i, 22, 8. Ar. The*., 299. Solon, Frag., 43 (Bergk).
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA. 217
and later, perhaps, of Demeter.17 In CIA. n, 481, line 59, it is
indeed used substantively referring to Ge.
The designation X\6rf iraph rh MecBvXov w reminds one of simi-
lar designations of locality in the inscription given in Eph. Arch.,
W. p. 362 : 7r/w t£ Mvpfirjtcc and 7r/w tg> avSpocfnvcp Ko>v(p. It
belongs to a community where everybody knew everybody else.
TeXen;, the daughter of Dionysus and Nicaea, 19 is, if not old, an
unusual figure.
There is another list of names that is redolent of Marathon.
6 hrjfiapxos o Mapa0(ov(a)v, twice repeated, would be enough. But
we have also :
Tpi/cdpvvdos.
TerpairoXels.
To 'HpdkXeiov.
'EWark.
'Ei> Kvvoaovpa.
'Io\€0)5.
The Herakleion is probably the identical Herakleion men-
tioned by Herodotus (vi, 108, 116) as the place where the Athen-
ians awaited the attack of the Persians. 'Yrrrjpia was, as we
have already seen, the ancient name of the Marathonian Tetrapo-
lis. The first explanation of the word 'EWarfcy given by the
scholiast to Pindar, 01. xni, 56, is rijv irpoarjyoptav ravrqv ia-xv
k4v<u <paal ttjv 'Adrjvav airb rov iv Mapad&vi 2\ov? ivda tSpvrai.70
That Kvvoaovpa is the point closing in the bay of Marathon on
the northeast seems in this connection more than possible. Iolaus
is prominent enough in the Heracleidae of Euripides, where in
the plain of Marathon he defends the persecuted children of
17 CIA. in, 872, 873. Inscriptions on chairs in the Theatre of Dionysus at
Athens.
10 ra/xi with the ace. in this phrase, and in rapd rbv wtpyor, rapA rb 'EXXt&noj',
rapt rb 'RpdxXeiow and rapd rb 'EKewlwtop, which are similar examples of designating
position, seems to prove that the distinction between rapd with ace. and vapd with
<dat, on which lexicographers are fond of insisting, is somewhat fanciful.
19 Nonnus, xlviii, 886. See TeXenJ on a relief in Bdtticher, Baumkultus der
Hellenen, Fig. 48. Athenian Central Museum, No. 1890.
* Et. Mag., 8. v. 'EXXwWj.
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218 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
Heracles. In fact, that plain was so associated with Heracles n
and his train that, according to the scholiast to Soph. 0. C. 701 r
the Spartans saved the Tetrapolis in their invasions of Attica
during the Peloponnesian War, Sih rofc 'Hpa/eXelSas. The temp-
tation is strong to bring iraph rbv irvpyov also into connection
with the foundations in the middle of the plain of Marathon now
known as the irvpyos. But it is better not to weaken a strong
case with mere possibilities.
Was our stone, then, set up originally in the Marathonian plain
and afterwards brought up to the place where we found it ? At first
glance it almost seems as if it must be so. And yet so strong is
the presumption that a large stele remains where it is set up, that
it seems necessary to account if possible for its original presence
here. Perhaps Milchhofer's theory, that here lay Hecale,22 is
correct. In that case we have a centre for sacrifice for all the
demes lying round about. For Plutarch (Thes., xiv.) says:.
"HLdvov yitp 'JL/caXqaiov oi iripi^ Sijfioi cvviovre; 'EtfaXp Au /cal rty
€TS,Kd\r)P irificov. This case of other demes sharing in the sacri-
fices of the deme of Hecale is characterized thus by Stengel in
Miiller's Handbtich, v. 3, p. 83 : " Eine seltene Ausnahme ist es
dass andere ganze Demen sich betheiligen." Now, if any demes
were to share sacrifices with a deme that lay at Koukounari, the
most natural candidate for such communion was the Marathonian
Tetrapolis. It is just about two hours' walk from either the
northern or the southern part of the Marathonian plain to this
point. In fact, from Vrana it is not more than an hour and a
half. The inscription itself is singularly tantalizing on the point
of locality. Line 2 says that the demarch of the Marathonians
is to sacrifice iv — but just what we wish to know is broken off.
Again, in line 23, when we think the same chance is coming
again, the phraseology is changed just at the critical point, and it
u Paus. 1} 32, 4. MapaSvpioi <pd^uvoi wpurrois 'EXk^ruv <r<pUriv 'HpaxXAx Otbr
po/Mff&ijyau The association of Heracles and Athene Hellotis suggests that Hera-
cles, who came to Athens with such popularity in early times as to have several-
temples, and to become the prominent figure in the old poros gable sculptures, came
from Marathon, where he was brought to shore by the Phoenicians. This is quite
as likely as an advent from Corinth.
M Demenordnung des KUtithenes, p. 21 f. For a contrary view see LoEPSBr
Mitth., 1892, p. 384 f.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA. 219
is now Ovei "Hp<p £v* What is still more disappointing is that the
name which follows is an entirely unknown one, . pavCKeta, with
one letter lacking at the beginning (perhaps Qpaaiketa).
Our stele does indeed contain allusions to some sacrifices that
were actually performed in the Tetrapolis. Tpi/copvvOol, in line
54, must be taken as a locative, since the datives of the second
declension throughout the inscription end in p.28 But where there
was a great central point for sacrifices for the neighbors, there
might well be set up a general record of sacrifices to be made,
including other places than this. It may be that duplicates of
this stele were set up at other places near by. Would that we
had found the heading !
It is true that our stele does not even name Hecale, but we
have only a part of the original bulk of the inscription, and it
must, I think, be conceded that Milchhofer's identification has
gained greatly by our discovery of three more reliefs u in addi-
tion to the two which he had already found at the same place.
Besides, this place, in spite of the objections ot Loeper (I. <?.), ia
the natural last halting-place on the direct road from Athens to
Marathon, the natural scene of Theseus' taking his last refresh-
ment from the nymph Hecale before descending into the plain to
meet the Marathonian bull.25
If this identification be accepted, we get a very natural expla-
nation of the Heroine who is so often referred to in the inscrip-
tion. She might well be Hecale. The Hero without an epithet
might then be Theseus. If, however, we seek our hero in the
Marathonian plain, we are embarrassed by the multitude of can-
didates. The eponymous hero Marathon, Heracles, Echetlaeus,
or even others of the Marathonomachoi, might claim the honor.26
23 For ot used as a dative ending along with u>c, see Cauer, Delectus, No. 138,
line 16 : M Krjvalcji iv toi Upoi. This is, to be sure, not Attic, but Euboean. But see
Meisterhans, Oram. Att. Inschr.y g 21, 11. In regard to the place, it is striking
that at Trikorynthos, the especial place of refuge for the Heracleidae (Diod. Sic. ,
iv. 57), Hera, the great enemy of Heracles, should be worshipped. The reconcilia-
tion must have been complete.
24 One of the reliefs has a group that might be considered to be Hecale welcoming
Theseus. From the joined hands of the two larger figures seems to proceed down-
ward something like a club, while a smaller figure of an adorante stands by. We
noticed the club before we thought of this application of the relief.
**Plut., Thes. xiv. *Paus., i, 32, 4, 5.
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220 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
We need exercise no violence to exclude this inscription from
a Marathonian provenance, for if it comes from Marathon it is an
important document in the somewhat obscure history of the
Tetrapolis. Of considerable interest in this connection is the
allusion in line 39 to Euboulus as archon for the inhabitants of
the Tetrapolis. This corroborates the inference drawn by Lolling
from an inscription found at Marathon, and published in the
Mittheilungen for 1878, p. 259 ff. From the fact that a certain
Lysanias of Trikarynthos is there spoken of as archon for the Te-
trapolis, Lolling concludes that an organization of these four
demes was kept up for religious purposes long after the merging
of all old independent communities into a general state.27
This leads us to the question of the date of our inscription.
When we came, in our first attempts at reading the stone, to this
mention of the archonship of Euboulus, we thought we had a
reference to the well known Attic archon and a fixed date, 345-44
b. c. We were quite as much surprised as gratified at this, for
the other indicia seemed to point to an earlier date. It was only
by supposing language to be more conservative in a rural dis-
trict than at Athens that we could reconcile these with so late
a date. It was not so much the particular forms of the letters that
led us to the impression that the stone belonged to the first half
of the fourth century as the general appearance and the orthog-
raphy. M and ^ , with their outside bars oblique rather than
perpendicular and horizontal, are less significant than the small o
and the jM with its bottom angle not coming quite down to the
lower level of the line. These all, however, and the absence of
ornamentation, point to an early date, to which the absence of
stoichedon writing is no objection.
But more specific is the testimony of the orthography. The
genitives in the second declension generally end in o, although
we have MeiSvkov in line 49 and ]fievov in line 25.28 We have
also x°* f°r X°fc m 45 and 50. In 52 ]o\et is probably for
BovXel or Ev/3ov\et. Kopor/Mtyo? is used six times, while the form
r He also adduces CIA. n, 602, 608 as evidence of a similar organization for the
Mesogaea.
™4wavroS, in line 14, looks like the stonecutter's error for ivuxvrbv, as Uavrov pre-
cedes, -pov in 22 is not quite sure ; hut a genitive here would match an apparent
gen. pi. -up in 28.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM EPAKRIA. 221
Kovporpo<f>o<; is used only twice. This indicates a date before
rather than after 360 b. c.29 The ov in tcvovaa, as well as the in-
consistency in KopoTp6<f>o^y might modify the certainty of this
judgment somewhat
The genuine diphthong ov appears also as o in £o<?, which is
used five times, while ySoO? appears only four times. This phe-
nomenon is noted as occurring in many cases during 440-357
B. c.30
The following is a list of objects for which money is expended,
and the various sums :
at£. Ahh
#09. }
/80O9 tcvovaa. PAAAA
tcpuk. Ah h
0Z9. Ah h and Al-
ois /cvovaa. ATI and AT II
Tpdyo? irafifiekas. AP
is kvowcl. AA
Orfkea ? Ah
a\<f>LTG)v herein. Mil
otvo ^09. No charge.
TpdireZa. h
Ufxixrvva. h to PhHC
<t>peaTO<;. P h
Aa<pinj<p6poi<;. P hh
ra wpala. No charge.
<T7rv\ia. AAAA
The offerings are for the most part the usual sacrificial ani-
mals, the most common being the sheep, which occurs thirty-one
times; and in one case (line 36) three sheep are offered at once.
Besides this, the ram is mentioned six times, and once, in line 27,
is followed by OrjXea*1 instead of the ordinary word 0Z9. This
makes of sheep, male and female, thirty-eight examples.
29 Meisterhans, Oram. Ait. Inschr., p. 21, J 11 (a), 20.
*>Ibid.y p. 49, §20, 2.
11 For the form with e instead of ei, see Mkisterhans, Gram. Alt. Inschr., p. 31,.
{ 15, 11. The reading is not quite certain. There is hardly room, however, for «.
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222 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
The next most frequent offering is the pig, mentioned nine
times, once, in line 44, three in a single offering. A sow with
young is mentioned three times. Next in order of frequency
come kine. In most cases we cannot tell whether cows or oxen
are meant. Kine are mentioned nine times, including one in-
stance, line 9, of a cow with calf. Next comes the goat, with six
cases, and in line 18 an all-black he-goat The divinity here pro-
posed in the restoration, Ge, is more or less chthonic, and so cor-
responds well to the black victim. Of more unusual offerings we
have rh dpala, the fruits of the season, with no price given, as if
it were a trifle, perhaps, like the ^ofc of wine, for which also no
price is given. An offering must indeed be of very small value
to have the price omitted on this score, when the peck of barley
at four obols was recorded. Comparable with rh copala is the
phrase in Dittenberger, Sylloge, No. 377, line 15 : aXXa aTrdpyfiara
<Sp alcSpac fe'povaiv. Cf. also, CIA. n, 1055, line 8, i/c r5>v copauov,
and 1056.
A table is mentioned several times, but not in connection with
any greater divinity, unless Kovporp6<f>o<; be such, but only with
heroes and the Tritopatres. In one case, line 53, it is all that the
Tritopatres get. This sacrificial table is often mentioned in in-
scriptions.32
In CIA. II, 836, frags, a and b, line 23, among gifts to Ascle-
pius, mention is made of rrjv avdOeaiv zeal rffv irol^atv rrj<; rpaird^.
But that so many tables are mentioned in our inscription is a
little surprising.
The peck of barley, which is mentioned twice, is doubtless the
barley thrown upon the victims from the time of Homer down.
'lepdxrvpa is used twenty times, always after the mention of the
offering, but by no means after every sacrifice. The price attached
to it varies from one drachma, lines 46, 50, up to seven drachmas
one obol and a half, line 22. The word is generally understood
to designate the priests' perquisites.33 It is worth noting that the
nJour. of Hell. Stud., ix, p. 384, lines 9 and 10; CIA. I, 4, lines 19 and 20; II,
681, several times.
88 Boeckh-Fraenkel, Staatshaushaltung, ii, p. 108. It is one feature of the in-
scription which makes it look more like an account than like a calendar, that these
perquisites should he priced so exactly.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR FROM THE EPAKRIA. 223
amount bears no relation to the size of the offering. The two
highest prices, in lines 21 and 22, are paid when only a sheep is
sacrificed. In line 46, with the same sacrifice, go Updxrwa of
only one drachma. To be sure the largest offering (in line 36) to
Athene Hellotis, of an ox, three sheep and a pig, carries with it
large Updxrwa of at least six drachmas. More may follow, but
the stone is here worn away.
The inscription mentions no large sacrifices like hecatombs,
and in spite of the frequent mention of Upaxrvva, there is no men-
tion of a priest. The only person spoken of as sacrificing is the
demarch of the Marathonians.
The syntax and signification of <f>p4aro$y line 52, to which a
price of six drachmas is attached, is not clear. Whether it refers
to a sacrificial pit or water privileges I must leave doubtful. It
is the only case of a priced object coming after iepdxjxwa. The
greatest puzzle of all, however, is the word <rrrv7ua7 or possibly
-owvSia,) line 10. Whether it be a neut. pi. or fern. sing, is doubt-
ful. If the latter, it must be an expensive object, for it costs
forty drachmas.
There is no plan in the distribution of the gender of the vic-
tims in this calendar. Zeus (yrraros and avOdkeik), Iolaiis, Hero
Pheraeus, Hero by the Hellotion and Hyttenius all receive a
sheep,34 while Achaea, Cora and Ge have rams. A goat, in lines
34 and 50, and a sow with pigs, in 43, apparently go to some
masculine divinity. Thus even the cautious statement made in
Miiller, Handbuch, v. 3, pp. 103-104, that at least Zeus and the
heroes always received male offerings, is not here borne out.
The sacrifice of animals with young is quite a feature of the
list. We have fc Kvovca three times, oh Kvovaa twice, and once
fiofc Kvovaa. The latter is assessed at the same price as /80S9.
An v? /cvovaa is naturally priced higher than a pig. The latter is
always three drachmas, while the former is twenty drachmas
every time that its price can be made out. This might be due
simply to the larger size of the sow. But in 0I9 icvovaa we have
a clear case of a high price on account of this condition of the
animal — sixteen and seventeen drachmas against eleven and
84 oft is not here masc, as in Cos Calendar, Jour, of Hell. Stud., 11, p. 835, line
61, Jft't rAcot. Kfubt is used in our inscription for the male*
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£24 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
twelve for an ordinary sheep. The sacrifice of animals with
young is not, however, peculiar to our calendar. It is mentioned
in both the Cos35 and the Myconus* calendars.
But we have already approached the subject of prices, which
certainly claims attention in connection with this inscription.
Perhaps the hekteus of barley is the best point to begin with, since
bread is the staff of life. This costs four obols, about twelve
cents, for a peck. In CIA. n, 631, a half hekteus of wheat costs
three obols, and in Inscr. Brit. Mas., I, 73, half that quantity, or
two choinikes, costs the same. Our barley is then quite cheap,
although a given quantity of wheat ought, of course, to be worth
more than the same quantity of barley.
A pig for three drachmas, or about fifty cents, seems cheap.
But this is the same price as that mentioned in Ar., Peace,
374, during the Peloponnesian War, when prices might naturally
be higher than usual. On the other hand, at Delos, at about the
beginning of the second century b. c, a pig is put down at from
four drachmas to four drachmas and five obols.37 But at Delos,
the supply being limited, the price would for that reason alone
run much higher than in a farming district on the mainland.
It is laid down as a general rule by Boeckh that, with all the
variation in price, the ratio of price in sheep and oxen was as one
to five ; a sheep in Athens, in its blooming period, varying from
ten to twenty drachmas, and an ox from fifty to a hundred. Our
list gives some interesting information on this point The pre-
vailing price of a sheep is twelve drachmas, although in at least
nine cases it is eleven drachmas.38 We have already noticed the
especial case of the oh /cvovaa. Rams and goats are always
twelve drachmas, while the all-black ram runs up to fifteen drach-
mas.39 The ratio of prices given by Boeckh does not hold here.
16 J. H. S.y IX, p. 828, line 2, &j tctcwra ; p. 835, lines 57 and 62, &'s KtJewra.
*Ditt. SylL, No. 873, line 18, vt iyicOfiiav. Cf. also No. 888, line 69, avv Mtokcl.
nBull. Cor. Hell., VI, p. 22, line 180 ff. Boeckh-Frankbl, Staatshaushal-
tung, i, p. 94. The judgment is based on Plut. Solon, 23.
m The Heroine never gets a sheep of the higher price, although the Heroes do.
"Asa comparison of ancient prices with modern is always interesting, I may
here record that a peasant brought a goat of average size to the excavations, butch-
ered it, and retailed it to our workmen, getting for the whole 19.50 drachmas. This,
at the present depreciated rate of paper money, would make about eleven silver
drachmas, which is about the same as eleven ancient drachmas.
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A SACRIFICIAL CALENDAR OF THE EPAKRIA. 225
The price of a cow or ox is too high, ninety drachmas ; Except in
one case, line 8, where it seems to be a hundred ; but the read-
ing is doubtful, because the stone looks as if it had been subjected
here to erasure or change. But, after all, the kine are not
exorbitantly dear, as will appear by a comparison with some
other prices.
CIA. I, 188 (410 b. a), speaks of a hecatomb in the second
prytany as costing 5114 drachmas, which, if the hecatomb con-
sisted of a hundred cows, as is assumed by Boeckh *° and Rhan-
gabe,41 makes about fifty-one drachmas a head. In CIA. II, 168
(406 b. a), the inscription discussed by Rhangabe (I. <?.), the price
is even less, for the hecatomb costs 41 mime, and as there is some
money left over, the price would be even less than 41 drachmas.
In the Sandwich marble, CIA. n, 814a, line 85, the price is
not dependent on any such interpretation of the word hecatomb,*
and is given at 8414 drachmas for 109 oxen, or about 77 drach-
mas a head. As this is about contemporary with our inscription,
i. e.y about 375 b. c, it is the best one for comparison, except that
as it concerns Delos it might be regarded as giving figures above
the usual price. But we see that it gives figures lower than ours.
It may also be regarded as harmonizing fairly well with the ear-
lier and lower figures from Athens, on the consideration that
these are the figures for oxen, while Athene's hecatomb would
naturally consist of cows.42 In the Cos Calendar,43 too, it is speci-
fied that the heifer for Hera must not be of less value than 50
drachmas.
Thus far our kine would seem to be high-priced, if they are
cows, and even if they are oxen. But there are records of still
higher prices. In the inscription in Bull. Corr. Hell., vi, p. 26,
line 219 (at Delos, 180 b. a), an ox costs 100 drachmas. In CIG.
1688, a prize ox at Delphi costs 300 drachmas. In Eph. Arch.,
1883, plate 11, line 77 (at Eleusis, about 330 b. a), an ox is put
down at 400 drachmas. In CIA. II, 545, line 32, an ox, as an
offering to a hero, costs 100 Aeginetan Staters, which Boeckh
reckons at 300 Attic drachmas.44 Though some of these cows
40 CIO. I, 147. « Antiq. Hell, n, p. 441.
» Muller, Handbuch, v, 3, p. 104. « Jour, of Hell. Stud., ix, p. 328, line 5.
44 Siaaishamhaltung, I, p. 94.
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226 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
may be accounted for on the ground of stringency arising from
the times or the locality, they make our newly-found figures for
kine, if rather high, at least not exorbitant.46
Other points of interest will occur to one and another reader,
but with the remarks already made, and with thanks to T. W.
Heermance, a member of the School, who has worked out with
me from beginning to end the somewhat difficult reading of the
stone, and to Dr. Wilhelm for important suggestions, I leave the
inscription to those interested in such matters for further restora-
tion and comment. Rufus B. Richardson.
American School at Athens,
March, 1895.
46 It is possible tbat all our cases are either of oxen, or cows with calf, but the
delivery of proof to that effect is impossible.
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NECROLOGY.
AUGU8TU8 CHAPMAN MERRIAM. *
Early in July 1894, Augustus Chapman Merriam, Professor of Greek
Archaeology and Epigraphy in Columbia College, sailed from this
country with the intention of spending his Sabbatical year abroad in
study and research in connection with his favorite topics of Greek art
and archaeology. The summer, autumn and early winter were passed
in England and upon the Continent, and it was not until December
25th that he reached Athens. During a visit to the Acropolis, on the
following day, he contracted a severe cold, which clung to him most
persistently ; but, despite this fact, at the first public meeting of the
American School, on Friday, January 11th, he read a paper on Dr.
Halbherr's recent explorations in Crete. The succeeding Tuesday,
upon his return from a second visit to the Acropolis, he was stricken
down with pneumonia; and four days later, on January 19th, he
passed away.
Dr. Merriam was born at Locust Grove, Lewis County, New York,
in 1843, and received his final preparation for college at the Columbia
Grammar School. In 1862 he entered Columbia College, and four
years later was graduated at the head of his class. He went imme-
diately to the West, but the following year he returned to take the
position of instructor at the Columbia Grammar School. In 1868 he
was appointed tutor of Greek and Latin at Columbia College, an office
which he held until 1876, when he was relieved of all Latin work and
was enabled to devote himself entirely to Greek. In 1879 Hamilton
College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Philos-
ophy, and in 1880 he was promoted to the position of adjunct professor
of the Greek language and literature in his Alma Mater. About this
time he began to turn his attention more particularly to Greek archae-
ology and epigraphy, and commenced those studies which, before his
death, had gained for him the distinction of being the foremost
authority on these subjects in America. In 1887-1888 he was director
of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and his admin-
istration was signalized by successful excavations at Sicyon and at
Dionyso, those at the latter place being of especial importance inas-
227
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228 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
much as they settled conclusively the much disputed question of the
site of the deme, Icaria, the birthplace of Thespis. In 1888, upon the
death of President Barnard, Professor Henry Drisler was made acting
president of the college, and Dr. Merriam, accordingly, became virtu-
ally the head of the Greek department. Two years later, in 1890,.
although he still continued his work in Greek language and literature,
he was appointed to the newly created chair of Greek archaeology and
epigraphy, a position which he held until the time of his death. He
was president of the American Philological Association from 1886 to
1887, and of the New York Society of the Archaeological Institute of
America from 1891 to 1894. He was for a number of years a member
of the Committee of the School of Classical Studies at Athens, and
from 1888 to 1894 acted as chairman of the Committee on Publication
of that body.
Among his more important publications, beside his editions of the
Phaeacian Episode of the Odyssey and of the sixth and seventh books
of Herodotus, both excellent text-books and both noticeable for the
scholarly thoroughness of treatment and the independence of judgment
which were so characteristic of the man, may be mentioned "The
Greek and Latin Inscriptions on the Obelisk Crab in New York,"1
" Aesculapius as revealed in Inscriptions," " Telegraphing among the
Ancients," and "The Law Code of Gortyna." The latter, which was
published shortly after the discovery of Halbherr and Fabricius, is an
exhaustive treatise upon this famous document and ranks deservedly
among the best commentaries that have been written concerning it.
To these should be added his three recently published essays, "A
Bronze of Polyclitan Affinities in the Metropolitan Museum," "Geryon
in Cyprus," and " Hercules, Hydra, and Crab," which all bear witness
to his artistic sense and to his extensive acquaintance with Greek art.
As a teacher Dr. Merriam at once commanded the respect of his
scholars by his courteous bearing, his simple and unaffected dignity,
his absolute impartiality, and his ripe and accurate scholarship. But,
more than this, he rarely failed to arouse and stimulate their interest,
for to him the classics never served as a mere basis for syntactical
drill. Not that any essential point of syntax was ever neglected, but
his pupils were made to comprehend that accuracy in this field was
but a necessary stepping-stone to higher and to better things. His
thoughtful criticisms kept vividly before his scholars the eloquence
and literary beauty of the authors under discussion, and his extensive
knowledge of art and of epigraphy was constantly employed to
illumine every allusion and to quicken into new life the masterpieces
of the ancients. Ever quick to sympathize and slow to censure, he
yet did not form friendships easily, but, once he had become your
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NECROLOGY. 229
fciend, he never faltered. He followed the subsequent careers of many
former pupils with never failing interest, and the hearty good will
with which he greeted them as fellow workers in his own field, won
for him the love of many who had long respected and. admired him
for his high ideals and his scholarly abilities.
As a scholar, Dr. Merriam belonged to an almost ideal type, com-
bining as he did the receptivity and progressiveness of the American
with the conservatism of the English. No theory was ever rejected by
him merely because it was new or its author hitherto unknown,
nor was any hypothesis, however dazzling or however eminent the
-authority from which it emanated, ever accepted without a careful
■examination of the facts. He was a man of decided opinions, yet
without the faintest touch of dogmatism ; ever ready to defend his
convictions, but never unnecessarily forcing them upon any one. In
his love of accuracy and in the patience necessary to its attainment
he resembled a German. For him no research was too arduous, no
Amount of labor too great to be undertaken, if it but gave promise of
leading to the establishment of a fact or the elucidation of a principle.
He possessed in fine to a remarkable degree that u infinite capacity for
taking pains," which, if we may believe Carlyle, is identical with
genius, and with this he united the sensibility to all that is beautiful and
the delicate grace of expression which are such prominent character-
istics of the French mind.
" He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again."
Clarence H. Young.
Columbia College, May 7th, 1895.
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NOTES ON ITALIAN PAINTINGS IN TWO LOAN
EXHIBITIONS IN NEW YORK.
I.
A loan collection of Madonnas was held at the Durand-Ruel gal-
leries, New York, on March 7th, 8th and 9th, for the benefit of the
charity of the " Little Mothers." It was made up of paintings, reliefs,
engravings and embroideries. Among the paintings there were several
modern pictures of high quality and a small gallery was filled with
minor examples of Old Masters. Among the latter there was nothing
of marked importance if we except a strong " Holy Family " of the
South German School (No. 34) attribued to Diirer by its owner, Mr.
M. Heider. A small Madonna and Child in a Gothic Niche (No. 3)
attributed to Memling, belonging to Mrs. Francke H. Bosworth, was
also of good quality.
The most important of the Italian pictures was perhaps a " Holy
Family " attributed to Raphael (No. 32) loaned by Mr. Heider. The
picture is an interesting example of the School of Raphael, but is
unfortunately not in its original condition.
Several Byzantine Madonnas of about the 13th century were fairly
characteristic but none were of first-rate quality. I may mention No.
2 loaned by Mr. Thomas Shields Clarke, which in execution was below
Rico da Candia to whom it was attributed : then, a pleasing example,
uncatalogued, loaned by Mr. Stanford White and interesting for its
background of white enamel laid on over gold and also two examples
loaned by Mr. Otto Heinizke, Nos. 49 and 50, assigned to the 12th and
13th century respectively, of which the former (No. 49), would seem
to be of Extra-Italian origin, and the latter to be of a somewhat more
recent date. To Mr. Heinizke belongs also a small panel showing a
transitional treatment between the Byzantine and a more naturalistic
manner not directly connected with Florence or Sienna exhibited
under No. 51. The picture, which symbolizes the " Coming of Christ,"
with, to the right, John the Baptist preaching (to a Byzantine group),
and to the left Mary leading the Child, was interesting iconographically
and charming withal in feeling. There were several characteristic
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NOTES ON ITALIAN PAINTINGS. 231
" Icons," notably No. 24 in a frame of enamel on silver, belonging to
Mrs. Anson P. Atterbury, and another uncatalogued.
Two unimportant Giottesque panels belonging to Mr. Henry
Duveen may be mentioned : No. 43, the center of a large triptych of
provincial 14th century derivation, and No. 42 a Madonna enthroned
with four saints and two angels in which the treatment of the musical
instrument was very charming. This latter piece was also the central
panel of a triptych, and of the latter half of the 14th century, to judge
by the execution and feeling, which were distinctly Florentine.
A tabernacle Madonna and Child, attended by an angel, of the School
of Fra Filippo Lippi (No. 25), loaned by Mr. Stanford White, a weaker
tabernacle piece (No. 29), attributed to Fra Filippo but seemingly of
Botticelli's School, loaned by Mrs. William Rutherford Mead, and a
good Tiepolo (No. 45), loaned by Mrs. Peter B. Wyckoff also deserved
mention, while several pleasing copies or paraphrases of Botticelli
(No. 59), of Di Credi (Nos. 54 and 60), of Andrea del Sarto (No. 53),
and others, with a few early Renaissance reliefs of good quality, added
to the generally artistic and restful ensemble. The exhibition was
only on view for three days, and it is to be hoped that the experiment
will be repeated on a more ambitious scale.
II.
From March 25th to April 6th, 1895, a Loan Exhibition of Religious
Art was held in the rooms adjoining the u Tiffany Chapel " at Nos.
334 to 341 Fourth avenue, New York City, for the benefit of the Chapel
at St. Gabriel's, Peekskill, N. Y.
The exhibition, which included specimens of vestments and other
stuffs, altar ornaments and plate with work in jewels and the precious
metals and a few missals and books, was richly illustrative of modern
religious art and not without some things of historical interest. A
collection of old pictures which formed part of the exhibition was
worthy of some attention and comment especially when we consider
the infrequency of such opportunities for viewing the treasures of
private galleries.
A Virgin and Child attended by Angels (No. 845), the property of
Mr. James Renwick, who attributes it to Fra Filippo Lippi, is by a
much rarer master, namely Benvenuto di Giovanni of Siena, of whom
it is a characteristic example. Another important though less pleas-
ing picture is a Madonna and Child owned by Mr. S. L. Parrish and
correctly ascribed to Innocenzo da Imola, (No. 873.) It is hard and
stiff, bricky in the flesh coloring and unpleasantly sleek with varnish ;
but is undoubtedly authentic and characteristic. No. 871 and No. 877
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232 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
(A Madonna and Child with two Saints recalling Boccacino) from the
same collection are interesting, though not important examples of
Bellinesque or kindred influence. A school piece of the late Florentine
Quattrocento and seemingly much repainted (No. 874) and a Madonna
and Child attributed to Baroccio (No. 876) belong to the same gen-
tleman.
Two Madonnas, Nos. 839 and 846, would seem to have been con-
fused in the cataloguing, for the " Ridolfo Shirlandajo " (No. 846) seems
to be a copy of a Prancia, and the " Prancia " (No. 839) a copy of
Ridolfo or some painter of the same school. They belong to Mr.
James Renwick, who exhibits a possible Paul Veronese (No. 843), an
Adoration of the Shepherds (No. 842) of the School of the Bassani
and an Epiphany (No. 842) attributed to Veronese, which is however
more in the manner of Schidone. Another Epiphany owned by Mr.
Thos. Bullock (No. 777) would seem to be a fine example of Tiepolo.
I may mention also a good early copy of Raphael's Madonna of the
Chair, the property of the Misses Patterson, and a Bagnacavallo of
good quality (No. 819) owned by Mr. J. A. Hotzer.
Among the earlier Italian examples there is not much of interest.
A 14th century panel somewhat restored (No. 835) showing mingled
Sienese and Florentine influence belonging to Mr. Louis C. Tiffany
may be noticed. There were also several unimportant Byzantine
panels and a number of " Icons." Nos. 852 and 853 were noticed under
Nos. 49 and 51 respectively, in the collection of Madonnas at the
Durand-Ruel galleries : also No. 773 under No. 2 : also a possible
Memling under No. 3, and a Byzantine Madonna uncatalogued be-
longing to Mr. Stanford White.
I am not competent to estimate the importance of the extra-Italian
pictures. A St. Jerome doing Penance (No. 781) attributed to Alde-
grever by its owner, Mr. James R. Sutton, is a gem of early German art.
A "Sister" by De Vos dated 1620 (No. 775) owned by Mr. Thomas
Bullock, and a Zurburan No. 798, owned by Mr. Henry T. Chapman,
Jr., are of high quality. Mr. Chapman contributes also a Madonna
assigned to an early Italian artist (No. 795) which is perhaps of some
historical interest. It is of the early 15th century and of provincial
origin with perhaps traces of foreign influence so that I am not able to
place it locally. I believe this picture was also exhibited in the col-
lection of Madonnas above referred to. W. R.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE XVII
FACE OF SUBSTRUCTURES, TEMPLE OF JUPITER AUXUR. TERRACINA.
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AECH^EOLOGICAL NEWS.
Summary of recent Discoveries and Investigations.
PAGB.
!€qypt 233
France, 282
•Greece, 236
Italy, . .
Portugal,
241
285
PAGB.
Sicily 279
Spain, 286
AFRICA.
EGYPT.
DAHSHUR. — Jewelry discovered by M. de Morgan. — In the last number
•of the Journal mention was made of the discovery of jewelry and
tombs of the xn dynasty at Dahshur. A more extended notice of
these discoveries was published by M. de Morgan in the Debate for
March 14, 1895, and has been republished in the Rev. Arch, for March-
April, 1895. After having uncovered the remains of a pyramid indi-
cated by Lepsius, named the White Pyramid, M. de Morgan made a
series of trenches on the north side of this excavation and soon
reached the top of some mastabas. The whole of these tombs exhibi-
ted admirable frescoes of fine quality. They are the most ancient
frescoes known. In one of these maatabas was found a stele bearing
the cartouche of a high priest of Heliopolis, the oldest son of
Snefrou. The date of these monuments is therefore certain. They
belong to the beginning of the fourth dynasty, or according to some
authorities, to the end of the third. This discovery, of extreme im-
portance from an archaeological point of view, was followed almost
immediately by another discovery. In the beginning of February,
about 100 m. west of the White Pyramid, two undisturbed tombs
were brought to light. They were oriented from north to south, and
constructed of enormous blocks of Tourah limestone. The first tomb
contained a sarcophagus which, according to the painted inscrip-
tions, enclosed the mummy of Ita. She was still adorned with
necklaces and bracelets ; near her was a magnificent poniard with a
233
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234 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt. J
bronze blade and handle of gold encrusted with cornelian, Egyptian
emeralds and lapis lazuli. Funerary objects of interesting character
were also placed in the serdab adjoining this sarcophagus. The body
was covered also with beads of pearl, gold, paste, cornelian, lapis lazuli
and Egyptian emerald, forming a rich harmonious design which can
be restored from the fragments found in the place. The second tomb
contains a sarcophagus, the inscriptions of which give the name of the
Princess Khnoumit. Here the treasures assume the proportion of an
unique discovery. On and about the mummy M. de Morgan found a
superb necklace fastened to the shoulders by two heads of hawks
made of gold encrusted with cornelian and lapis lazuli, a network of
golden beads, other ornaments made of beads of cornelian, Egyptian
emerald and lapis lazuli, bracelets with fastenings of gold encrusted
with marvellous art. This was not all, for in passing through the
serdab by an opening hardly sufficient to allow a man to enter, there
were found two remarkable crowns ; one in solid gold encrusted with
flowers, with a socket to support a fan-like spray of various flowers
composed of jewels with gold stems and foliage ; the other composed
of a lace-work of encrusted gold in the form of a wreath of forget-me-
nots of precious stones and with beads of lapis lazuli. It is divided
into six sections by means of the crux anmta or Maltese cross. The
number of objects of this remarkable discovery amount to 5,760r
without counting the beads of precious stones. The amount of gold
represents a weight of 1,792 grms. The Princesses Ita and Khnoumit
were contemporaries of Amenemhat II, of the xn dynasty. These
treasures are now on exhibition at the Museum at Gizeh.
DEIR-EL-BAHARI. — The latest excavations. — M. Naville reports on Feb.
22 from Deir-el-Bahari: "The clearing of the Deir-el-Bahari is
drawing towards its end. Not only is the middle platform completely
cleared and levelled, but the retaining wall on the southern side is
showing its enormous hawks and traces of the vultures and asps
which have been erased by the enemies of the worship of Amon.
Parallel to the retaining wall runs an enclosure wall which did not
reach the height of the platform, but which formed with it a passage
ending in a staircase, now entirely ruined. It seems to have been the
only way to reach the Hathor shrine.
"Among the most interesting discoveries made lately are those
alluded to in Mr. Hogarth's letter (Academy, Feb. 9) of fragments of
the famous Punt wall, found scattered here and there in various parts
of the temple. Small as the fragments often are, they give us im-
portant information as to the nature of the land of Punt. Its African
character comes out more and more clearly. Although the name of
Punt may have applied also to the coast of South Arabia, it is certain
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[Egypt.] ARCHJEOLOBWAL NEWS. 235
that the Egyptian boats sent by the Queen landed in Africa. In the
newly-discovered fragments we find two kinds of monkeys climbing
up the palm-trees: the dog-headed baboon, the sacred animal of
Thoth ; and the round-headed monkey. Then we see bulls with long
and twisted horns, like the animals which, as I have been told, were
brought to Egypt some years ago from the Abyssinian coast. Two
panthers are fighting together ; a giraffe is showing his head, which
reaches to the top of a tree, and a hippopotamus is also sculptured as
one of the animals of the country.
"A small fragment speaks of ' cutting ebony in great quantity.'
And on another we see the axes of the Egyptians felling large branches
on one of the dark-stemmed trees which had not hitherto been identi-
fied, but which are now proved to be ebony. A small chip shows
that the people had two different kinds of houses, one of which was
made of wickerwork. It is doubtful whether we shall find much
more; unfortunately, what we have is quite insufficient for allowing
us to reconstruct the invaluable Punt sculptures, which have been
most wantonly destroyed in ancient and modern times.
"On Feb. 1 we at last came upon an untouched mummy-pit in
clearing the vestibule of the Hathor shrine. In a place where the
slabs of the pavement had been broken we . . . discovered ... a pit
roughly hewn in the rock. When we came to a depth of about 12
feet we found the bricks and the stones which closed the entrance to
the side chamber. I removed them with my own hands, got into the
very narrow opening, and found myself in a small rock-hewn cham-
ber. It was nearly filled with three large wooden coffins placed near
each other, of rectangular form, with arched lids, and a post at each
of the four corners. On the two nearest the entrance were five wooden
hawks, one on each post and one about the middle of the body.
Every coffin had at the feet a wooden jackal, with a long tail hanging
along the box. Wreaths of flowers were laid on them, and at head
and feet stood a box containing a great number of small porcelain
ushabtis.
" The opening of the chamber being very small, it is evident that
these large coffins were taken into the tomb in pieces, and put to-
gether afterwards. We undid the one next to the door, and found
inside it a second coffin in the form of a mummy, with head and orna-
ments well painted, and a line of hieroglyphs well down to the feet.
We did the same with the two others, and found that they also con-
tained a second coffin, which we hauled up through the opening of
the tomb. When we had stored them in our house, we opened the
second coffins, and we found in each case a third inside, brilliantly
painted with representations of gods and scenes from the Book of the
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236 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
Dead. In this third box was the mummy, very well wrapped in pink
•cloth, with a net of beads all over her body, a scarab with outspread
wings, also made of beads, and the four funereal genii. We unrolled
•one of the mummies, and then found it carefully wrapped in good
clothes, which might be used at the present day as napkins or even
handkerchiefs. Over the body was a very hard crust of bitumen : we
had to use a chisel to break it. There were no amulets or ornaments
of any kind except the beads.
These three mummies, which required nine coffins for their burial,
are those of a priest of Menthu, Thotaufankh, his mother and his
aunt. They evidently belong to the Sai'tic epoch, and are among the
good specimens of that period. I consider that we were very fortu-
nate in finding an unrifled tomb. It is clear that, after the xxn dy-
nasty, when the temple was no longer used as a place of worship, it
became a vast cemetery." — Ed. Naville, in Academy, March 16, 1895.
EUROPE.
GREECE.
THE PAINTINGS BY PANAINOS OF THE THRONE ON THE OLYMPIAN
ZEUS. — In the elaborate description which Pausanias gives of the
throne of the Olympian Zeus, few parts have given rise to so much
discussion and so much difference of opinion as the paintings by
Panainos, the brother of Pheidias. It has been disputed both where
they were placed and how they were arranged. The most obvious
inference from the words of Pausanias is that the paintings were
arranged around the two sides and the back of the throne; the front,
which was in great part hidden by the legs and draperies of Zeus, be-
ing left plain blue. This view was upheld by Brunn, Petersen, Over-
beck (up to the third edition) and Collignon. The subjects enumerated
by Pausanias appeared to be nine in number, and were accordingly
arranged in three groups of three each. In opposition to this view
Mr. A. S. Murray proposed in 1882 a view that these paintings were
not on the throne of Zeus, but on the barriers which enclose the
space in front of it and, as traces of these barriers have actually been
discovered, this view has been followed in the official publication of
the Olympian excavations and accepted by Overbeck in the new
edition of his Geschichte der Qriechischen Plastih Mr. E. A. Gardner
now raises several objections to Mr. Murray's scheme, and proposes a
new solution, arranging the paintings upon the throne itself in
twelve panels, four of which would have been placed upon each of the
two sides and back of the throne. This view he justifies by means of
the description of Pausanias and by a consideration of the construc-
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tion of the throne. — E. A. Gardner, in Jour. HM. Stud., Vol. XIV.y
part 2, 1894.
LYKOURGOS AND NIKE. — The Louvre possesses a panathenaic
amphora dating from the Archonship of Theophrastus, 313 b. c. This
vase contains as usual the figure of Athena between two columns,
but upon one of the columns is represented the image of a god or
man holding a figure of Nike. This figure is probably that of an
orator, since it resembles statues of Demosthenes and Aischines.
Twelve years before this amphora was made an orator like Lykour-
gos completed and decorated the Panathenaic s tad ion. There is
nothing strange, then, that this figure should be placed upon the
column on the amphora. This cannot be a copy of his bronze statue in
the Agora, which was not set in place until 307 b. c, but it may be a
souvenir of the wooden statue of him made by the sons of Praxiteles,
Kephisodotos and Timarchos. It is probable, also, that if the large
figure represents Lykourgos the little Nike perpetuates the memory
of the statues of Nike in gold which Lykourgos dedicated to Athena.
The little Nike is placed upon a strange pedestal held in the hand of
the larger figure. The painting here is somewhat indistinct, but
we may nevertheless conjecture that it represents the prow of a vessel,
since we know that images of Nike upon the prow of a vessel are
found upon the painted columns of a Panathenaic amphora dating
from the Archonship of Niketes. Upon another Panathenaic amphora
of the same date Nike is represented flying above the prow of a vessel.
This is certainly a more artistic motive, and suggests an interesting
problem. Was not the Nike of Samothrace, and similar statues, in-
spired by some painting representing Nike flying above the prow of a
vessel ? The sculptor would have been obliged to place Nike upon
the vessel itself, although for the painter there was no such necessity.
It is probable that this motive appeared first in that branch of art
which was the most capable of giving it expression.— Cecil Torr, in
Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, p. 160.
A GREEK VASE IN THE COLLECTION OF MR. CECIL TORR.— In the
Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, M. Salomon Reinach describes an
Athenian lekythos purchased by Mr. Cecil Torr at the sale of the col-
lection of M. Joly de Bammeville, in Paris, June 12, 1893. On it is
figured a woman bearing a spear and a shield ; overhead is inscribed
ZE4>YPIA KAVE; the name of Zc^vpia is new. The absence of all
characteristic attributes does not allow of our considering this woman
to be an Amazon ; it is more probable that we have here represented
a young girl dancing the pyrrhic dance as described by Xenophon in
the Anabasis VI, I, 12-13. The subligaculum worn by this figure re-
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238 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY [Greece.]
appears in numerous paintings of dancers in the exercise called
Kvfiiarrj<T^ described by Xenophon in the Symposium.
ARGOS. — American excavations at the Heraion. — Prof. T. D. Seymour,
chairman of the American School at Athens, has received a report
from Dr. Waldstein regarding this season's excavations at the Heraion
of Argos. Dr. Waldstein says that at the end of the present season
the whole of the ancient peribolos will have been excavated, including
the buildings adjoining and the ancient temples. During this season
an immense quantity of dirt has been removed, and the work has
been pressed with uncommon vigor and success. He quotes the
Greek Director of Antiquities as characterising the work at Argos as
"the model excavation of Greece." Dr. Waldstein also says that he
will take immediate steps for securing for the American School the
sole right to excavate in the immediate vicinity of the Heraion for the
coming five years.
After referring to the rich discovery of " bee-hive " tombs last year,
and predicting the discovery of many more, Dr. Waldstein says,
speaking of this season's excavations at the stoa : " As I am now
writing the building is quite clear. It is a beautiful stoa . . . with
walls of most perfect Greek masonry of which four and even five
layers are standing, all sound. Within there are nine Doric pillars.
All the pillar bases are in situ; three have the lower drums while one
has two drums, the remaining one3, together with the capital, in good
preservation, having fallen. There are well-worked pilasters, one to
each alternate pillar. The stoa is about forty-five metres long by
about thirteen metres wide. It faces toward Argos, and a continuous
flight of steps leads up to it. The temple above it must have fallen in
before this stoa was destroyed, as, especially in the western half, we
found large drums of the columns from the temple, which had
crashed through the roof. The flooring was there, in parts, littered
with fragments of marble from roof tiles and metopes. Among them
were several pieces of sculptured metopes, fragments of arms, legs,
torsos and bodies, all from the high relief of the metopes, and two
well-preserved heads (one quite perfect), with portions of three others.
This stoa is, perhaps, the best preserved of all the buildings we have
found, and is certainly one of the most imposing I know in Greece."
On the west of the stoa Dr. Waldstein found traces of a huge stair-
case covering the whole slope and leading up to the great platform of
the temple, forming a magnificent approach to the sanctuary. He
adds in this connection that the facings and massings of certain parts
of the structure in different directions correspond to the change from
the Mycenaean to the Argive supremacy.
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In further excavations Dr. Waldstein notes the discovery of walls
of the Mycenaean period, together with graves, vases and small ob-
jects. Outside of the boundaries of the temple he has found buildings
of the Roman period, including an extensive and complete system of
Homan baths.
Of the heads excavated Dr. Waldstein says that they correspond
with those already found. They are worked in a vigorous manner,
and are still of such careful execution that he " hardly believes even
those of the Parthenon can rival them in this respect." One head of
a youth with a helmet is in perfect preservation, and even the tip of
the nose remains. He regards the sculptures as among the most
important specimens of the art of the fifth century b. c. Altogether
about seventy-six baskets full of vases, terracottas, bronzes, etc., have
been collected, and a number of Egyptian objects, including scarabs,
brought out. There are several inscriptions, some of the Roman
period ; but in this respect the most important find, perhaps, of the
whole excavation is a plaque, about eight inches square, with an in-
scription in the earliest Argive characters.
Dr. Waldstein closes his letter with an urgent appeal for the
thorough and graphic publication of the results of the labor of four
seasons at Argos. — N. Y. Evening Post, June 21, 1895.
ATHENS. — Vases from the Akropolis. — The fragments of early Greek
vases discovered on the Akropolis of Athens have now been partially
Arranged. They represent a great variety of pottery from the earliest
period in an unbroken series down to the year 480 b. c. Of the
Mycenaean period there is an astonishing quantity indicating that this
type of culture lingered a long while in Attica. The series of frag-
ments of red-figured vases is rich, and has many rare subjects. The
fragments of black-figured vases are not yet arranged. This material
is very abundant, and proves that the finest and the poorest of wares
were made at the same time in Athens. This large collection is at
present in a corridor-Jike room of the Central Museum, piled up upon
tables and inaccessible to students. It is much to be desired that
they should be placed upon exhibition, catalogued and published with
illustrations. — Chr. Belger, in Berl. Phil. Woch., Jan. 5, 1895.
A GREEK ARCH/EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.— The Archaeological Society
of Athens has decided to create an Institute for the special study of
Antiquity. This institute will have charge (1) of the publication of
the Archaeological Journal ('E^mcpis 'ApxcuoXoyucrj) and other publica-
tions of the society; (2) of communications and lectures having for
their object the giving of information regarding the excavations
undertaken at the cost of the society ; (3) of advising in regard to the
purchase of antiquities by the Council of the society and of determin-
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240 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH2E0L0QY. [Greece. J
ing their price ; (4) of selecting archaeological works worthy of beingp
financially assisted by the society. Finally, the members of this in-
stitute are to start public courses in archeeology and history of art. —
Chronique, 1895, No. XIX.
THE PARTHENON FRIEZE TERRACOTTAS —A new fragment of a
small reproduction of the Parthenon frieze has recently come into the
possession of Mr. A. H. Smith. It belongs to the same class as the-
fragments at Copenhagen, the Louvre and the Museo Kircheriano at
Rome, which were published by Dr. Waldstein in his Essays on the Art
of Pheidias. Archaeologists generally had settled down to the belief
that these fragments were modern productions, based upon a series of
casts made by Choiseuil Gouffier. Professor Purtwaengler, however,
has recently reopened the controversy by declaring the Copenhagen
fragment to be a genuine reduction of the frieze made in the time of
Augustus. It is, however, certain that the series as a whole is
not ancient, because the head of Iris is now known to have been
wrongly restored, and because some of the slabs are made up of dif-
ferent parts of the original frieze brought together in a way which
proves that the original was in a ruinous state when the moulds were-
made.— A. H. Smith, in Jour. Hell. Stud., Vol. XIV., part 2, 1894.
DELPHI. — Date of the Temple. — It has been generally believed that
the temple was finished in the fifth century, but M. Foucart has
proved, at a recent meeting of the Academy of Inscriptions, by means
of a passage of Xenophon, hitherto misunderstood, and by an Athen-
ito decree, that even in the fourth century the Greeks were seeking
for the necessary funds to finish the temple. This fact once estab-
lished allows of a better interpretation of some of the recent discover-
ies. The temple which is mentioned in the accounts contemporary
with the Sacred War as undergoing certain works executed by inter-
national commission must be, therefore, the temple of Apollo. The
remains of the Doric column discovered during the excavations date
atlso from the middle of the fourth century, and there need now be no-
surprise at the style of the capitals, nor need it be supposed that the
building was reconstructed. — Chronique, 1895, No. XIX.
ERETRIA. — Latest American Excavations. — A letter received by Prof-
Seymour, Chairman of the School at Athens, on June 21, from Prof-
R. B. Richardson, describes the work at Eretria. Besides almost
completing the excavation of the orchestra of the newly-found theatre,
Prof. Richardson has laid bare a large building, in one room of which
stood the tubs of the " city laundry " found last year. It appears to*
have been a gymnasium with floors of various kinds of pavements
and another row of smaller tubs. In this building were found three-
heads, one a very fine one of an archaistic bearded Dionysos, almost
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[Italy.] ARCHJEOLOOICAL NEWS. 241
the counterpart of one in Athens; another, representing the best art of
all, probably of the fourth century, the right side of a woman's head,
with one eye and the forehead intact. The finds include : three in-
scriptions, one of fifty lines, probably an honorary decree of the first
century b. c. ; two silver coins, one probably of 500 b. c, bearing an.
archaic head, probably of Zeus or Herakles, and on the reverse a
trireme ; also stamped tiles, two terracottas, and a fragment of a vase
with a name printed upon it. Prof. Richardson also says he has laid
bare still another important building with many marble and terracotta
trimmings.— N. Y. Evening Post, June 24.
ITALY.
Prehistoric and Classic Antiquities.
EUTHYDEMUS I, KING OF BACTRIA.— In the Museo Torlonia there is-
a head, No. 133, described as an old fisherman, in which we may,
however, recognize a king of Bactria. It is at least life-size and of
marble similar to that of the dying Gaul in the Capitol. He wears a
broad-banded thick hat such as we find represented upon the coins of
the kings of Bactria and India. The strongly characteristic features
of this head are found reproduced in a tetradrachmon of Euthydemua
I. We learn from Polybius that Euthydemus came from Magnesia
and he may have returned there after the peace with Antiochus in
208 b. c. At this time a statue may have been erected to him in hia
native town. This bust was formerly in the possession of Giustinani,
who had possessions upon the island of Chios opposite Magnesia. —
J. Six in Roem. Mitth, ix. 2, p. 103.
PORTRAIT OF TITUS QUINCTIUS FLAMINIUS.— In the Museum of
Berlin there is a Pentelic marble head of more than life-size, which
has been illustrated in plates 15-16 of Brunn and Arndt, Griechwche u.
R&mische Portrdis. According to the Berlin catalogue this is a copy of
a Greek head of the fourth century b. c. According to Brunn and
Arndt, the head represents a Greek who lived in the Roman times
about the end of the second century a. d. If we should compare this
head with the best imperial portraits of the time from Lucius Verus
to Caracalla, we find that the latter are much more objective in char-
acter. On the other hand, the date given in the Berlin catalogue is
too early, since portraits of that time were severer and did not possess
the softness of expression, nor the highly finished surface of this head.
Such carefully, ruffled hair is frequently found in busts from the time
of Alexander through the entire Hellenistic period ; but the short
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242 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.]
beard was worn only within narrow limits of time. Prom the time of
Alexander it was customary to shave ; only the philosophers did not
follow this fashion. They allowed the beard to grow longer than was
customary in the fifth and fourth centuries. Occasionally royal por-
traits followed this custom, but ordinarily, the kings of Pontus,
Bithynia and Macedonia from the middle of the third to the middle
of the second century b. c. wore a very short beard. The original of
this bust, therefore, must have lived about the end of the third and
during the first half of the second century b. c. Similar features to
those of this bust may be found upon the gold stater, which has upon
the obverse a portrait head and on the reverse a Nike crowning the
name of T. Qvincti. Examples of this are found in Berlin, Athens
and Paris. Friedlaender remarks (Zeitech. f. Num. xn S. 2,) " as this
coin resembles exactly the Macedonian royal coins of this period and
has the Nike of Alexander the Great, it must have been struck in
Macedonia, not in Greece. The crowning of the name indicates that
it was struck after the battle of Kynoskephalai in the year 197 and
.since it is a Macedonian coin, it can be placed only between the date
of this battle and the peace with Philip in 196, the time when Flam-
inius was master in Macedonia. The statue to which the original of
the Berlin head belonged, would accordingly have been made in the
year 196. We know it is true only of one statue of Flaminius in
Rome mentioned by Plutarch, but it is evident, that one to whom
such divine honors were paid must have had many statues raised to
him. This bust is of Greek workmanship, whereas the majority of
Roman portraits were Italic. This is also the first certain instance of
An important portrait of a Roman of this period. It may lead to the
•discovery of other portraits of Romans in busts which have hitherto
been supposed to represent only Greeks. — J. Six, in Roem. Mitth. ix,
p. 112.
THE PONlATOWSKf COLLECTION OF GEMS.— M. Salomon Reinach has
written for the Chronique (1895, Nos. 1 and 2) a paper on the character
and history of the peculiar collection of engraved gems made by
Prince Poniatowski. The Prince had inherited a small collection of
About 150 gems among which were such masterpieces as the lo of
Dioscorides. Having retired from political life in 1804 and living
almost always in Italy he found the means of increasing his collection
to such an extent that at his death in 1833 it comprised 2601 gems,
nearly 1800 of which were provided with artists' signatures. The col-
lector was very chary of showing his gems and very little was known
About them except from a catalogue, of which he had a few copies
printed shortly before his death. The collection, it is not known
whether wholly or in part, was sold in London in 1839. At this sale
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the bulk o£the gems, 1140 in number, was purchased by a Colonel
Tyrrill and on becoming known to the public and to specialists it
became generally suspected that the greater part of the gems were
forgeries. This appears to have been the case with all the signed
gems.
HERCULANEUM. — The Mistress of the Villa of Herculaneum — On the
17th of November, 1759, there was found in the villa of Herculaneum
a bronze bust which has given rise to the most remarkable and fanci-
ful interpretation. By the publishers of the Herculaneum bronzes it
has been named Ptolemaios Apio or Berenike ; by others Libya ; by
•Comparetti, Aulus Gabinius or Apollo ; by Arndt it has been called a
Hellenistic conqueror. The ground for all these interpretations has
been the taenia about the head which in our view is certainly modern.
The face is well preserved with only modern eyes. The neck also and
43m all portion of the bust are ancient and well preserved. On the
other hand, the entire crown of the head together with the taenia and
the locks of hair forming a complete wig, are modern. The record
given by Paderni of the discovery of this bust substantiates the pre-
ceding remark. The acceptance of the antiquity of the entire bust, is
based upon the fact that Winckelmann saw it in 1762 and expressed
no doubt of the genuineness of the locks of hair. This only shows
that the restoration must have taken place before 1762. Underneath
the modern locks of hair, we find engraved indications of hair which
are not modern ; these correspond precisely in style to those which may
may be seen upon the foreheads of women in Pompeiian paintings,
and is an indication to us that this head is the portrait of some dis-
tinguished woman of Herculaneum or of a Roman lady who had her
villa there. We are tempted to go further and from the fragment of
an inscription upon the herm, near which the head was found, restore
the name as Thespis, but we are not acquainted with this as the name
of a woman and there seems to be no space for the name of the dedi-
cator.—J. Six, in Roeni. Mitth. ix, p. 117.
Lysimachos, King of Thrace. — Of the three heroic sized bronze busts of
kings from the Villa in Herculaneum, two only were found in the
Atrium. The third, found in the garden, has been recognized by
Wolters as Seleukos. Of the other two, which as yet have not been
Tecognized, one was called Ptolemy Alexander (Bronzes of Herculaneum
I, plate 69-70 ; Villa Ercolanese, vol. ix, 3.) The most recent publisher
of this bust, Arndt, remarks that from Sonographic as well as chrono-
logical grounds this identification is untenable. He himself says of
it : "I think on account of the resemblance of the features to those
of Alexander the Great, that this is possibly the portrait of his father,
Philip of Macedon (382-336), whose portrait we know was made by
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244 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.}
Euphranor, Leochares and Chaereas. It is too old to be an Alexander.
A close observation shows many other features not possessed by
Alexander. These features are, however, to be found on coins repre-
senting Lysimachos. Of the statues of this king we know specifically
of one which was placed on front of the Odeion of Perikles (Paus. 1, 9,
4.) Wachsmuth was probably right in saying that this statue was-
made in the year 284/3, when the king was 67 to 77 years old. — J.
Six, in Roem. Mitth. ix, 2, p. 103.
PALERMO. — Relief Representing a Sacrifice by Vestal Virgins. — In the
National Museum at Palermo, there is a relief which came from the
collection of Prince Raffadeli, of the province of Girgenti. The relief
appears once to have decorated a large altar. On it are represented a
seated woman, four standing women and a priest. In front of the
women are represented three small altars, on one of which is an ox,
on another a ram and on a third fruit. The whole scene is represented
as taking place in front of a temple. There are two other reliefe
which may be brought into comparison with this; one is in the Museum
of Sorrento and has been published by Heydemann (Roem. Mitth.,
1888-9, pl. x.); the other in the villa Albani was published by Zoega.
Bamrilievi Taf. 22. These three monuments evidently portray the
sam e subject and must be interpreted alike. The costume of the
women is that of the statues of the vestal virgins from the atrium of
Vesta. They wear over their heads the mffibulum, which according to
Festus was worn only by vestal virgins. Upon the relief of Sorrento
there is represented also a Palladium which identifies the temple as
that of Vesta. The temple upon the two other reliefs may be similarly
attributed. The seated figure we may consider as the goddess Vesta
herself, not only because of the ideal form of the head, but also because
on the Albani relief she carries a sceptre and corresponds in general
to the seated figures of Vesta found upon coins. From the character
of the workmanship of the relief from Palermo, we may judge that it
cannot be later than the first century a. d., and may be as early as the
time of Augustus. — Ernest Samter in Roem. Mitth. ix, p. 125.
PERUGIA. — Bronzes from Perugia. — In April, 1812, an important find
of bronzes was made at Castello S. Mariano, 6 kilom. southwest of
Perugia. Some of these bronzes remained in the museum of the
University of Perugia; others found their way to the British Museum
and to the Glyptothek and the Antiquarium at Munich. In the early
portion of the century these bronzes were published by Vermiglioli,
Inghirami and Micali, but their publications did not give sufficiently
good representations of the bronzes nor a proper estimate of their his-
torical importance. They were generally classed as of Etruscan origin,,
whereas the greater portion are early Greek or more definitely Ionian,
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workmanship, while others are local or Etruscan ; but all of them,
whether original or imitations, belong to the sixth century b. c.
Amongst these objects the most important is a highly decorated bronze
chariot, the fragments of which are scattered in the various museums.
This was not a war chariot, as was formerly supposed, but designed
for pleasure driving. It was finely decorated with figures of gods,
gorgons, men and animals. The object next in importance is a war
chariot, the fragments of which have all remained in Perugia. Be-
longing to this chariot is an important relief representing the contest
of Herakles and the Amazons against Ares, Kyknos and Aphrodite.
Analogous representations upon vases from Chalchis and sarcophagi
from Klazomenai, show that both of these chariots were of Ionian
workmanship. Besides these important objects, there are here de-
scribed in detail many fragments of reliefs, which decorate objects of
furniture, also a number of moulded figures and reliefs in silver, some
of which are plated with gold. Etruscan imitations of early Ionian
work are then considered separately, and a classified catalogue of them
is given. — E. Petersen, in Roem. MittK ix, 4.
A series of excellent photographic reproductions of the most im-
portant of the bronzes is given on plates 14 and 15 of vol. II, No. 2, of
the Antike Denkmdler of the German Institute, just issued.
POMPEII. — Excavations at Boscoreale. — Sig. Vincenzo de Prisco oiSc^ */?.*'- '
Boscoreale has made excavations in his property about 1.50 kilom. XySy <^i*>
from Pompeii. Here he has discovered a villa, which is not merely a
farm-house, since it contains apartments for baths evidently intended
for the use of the proprietor, so long as he lived there. Drawings of
this building have been made by the architect Holzinger. The ex-
cavations have not yet been completed, but a brief notice of them
may now be given. Adjoining the central court is found the culina,
directions concerning which are found in Varro de r. r. i, 13, 2, and
Vitr. vi, 9, (6), 1. In the centre of the culina stood the oven of square
form. The entrance to the culina is at the southeast angle according
to the directions of Vitruvius, that the culina should be placed in the
warmest portion of the court. An adjoining room was evidently
intended for the preservation of farming implements ; then follow two
rooms with walls painted in late Pompeian style. Northeast of the
wdina are found the bath rooms, with apoditerium, tepidarium and
-calidarium. Portions of the furnace still remain with their connecting
tubes. Several fragmentary inscriptions were also found* A. Man,
in Roem. Mitth. ix, 4, p. 349.
The following letter gives further details : —
" I went lately to the new excavation on Signor de Prisco's property
at Boscoreale, which is highly interesting. The elegant bath-room
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246 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.}
which forms part of the dwelling now uncovered was dug out some
time ago, and probably the objects found in it were taken away.
Signor de Prisco is now excavating the rest of what seems to be a large
and elegant house, about a mile away from the northern limit of
ancient Pompeii as the crow flies. The most interesting things yet
found are two cisterns for supplying the bath and washing-basins at
the other end of the bathing chamber, with hot and cold water at will,
when they could be mixed to the proper temperature. Pipes, tapsr
&c, are all in their original place. The great square room (at the side
of which these cisterns stand) with the hearthplace in the middle was
the kitchen (atrium), which, in the country as well as in the town,
served in the oldest time as the principal living- place of the inhabitants.
" This country house now discovered must not only have been a
farm, but also served as a country residence for its owners, as the
objects discovered, and the elegance of the mural frescoes, show. This
atrium in the country villa now discovered was no doubt the largest
room, as it always was in a villa rustica. It was called the culina
(kitchen.) On three sides it was surrounded by its unplastered walls ;
on the fourth with a large broad kind of cupboard, or sideboard of
wood, the impression of which could be clearly seen in the ashes and
pumice-stone by which the house was buried. On the low hearth in
the centre the cinders of the fire last kindled by the inhabitants were
found. In one of the walls is a niche for the lares and penates. The
bath-rooms consist of an antechamber, on the mosiac floor of which
are represented two ducks ; the tepidarium, with the figure of a large
fish in the mosaic floor; and the calidarium, the pavement decoration
of which represents a swan or crane stretching out one claw towards
a wriggling eel. This bath-room is especially interesting as still con-
taining the water cistern, conducting pipes, bronze taps, &c, which
are quite missing in Pompeii, because in the latter city the surviving
inhabitants took away all the metal objects they could find.
" The bath, lined with marble and standing on a marble step, is of
the usual size for one person. At the opposite side of the room is a
niche with a roof in form of a shell, where doubtless stood the basin
or fountain, for the bronze tubing can be seen in the wall. Behind
the bath, and at an angle with it and the kitchen, separated from each
by a wall, is the heating-room. A leaden boiler, about two feet in
diameter, and more than six feet high, stands above an oven, from
which the heat was also led into the bath-rooms in the well-known
manner. Not far away is the water cistern, connected with a complete
system of pipes. One comes from the yet unexcavated part of the
villa, leading the water into the cold-water cistern at the upper part,
and capable of being closed by a bronze tap. Then four other pipes
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issue from the same cistern near its bottom, close above the ground.
One of them, still provided with its tap, turns away from the heating
chamber, and either led to a cold bath or served to empty the cistern.
The other three pipes lead the water into the heating-room and into
the boiler. The largest, which can be closed by its tap, brought the
cold water. Curiously enough, it did not empty the water straight
into the boiler, but the pipe twists round within the boiler, to let the
cold water flow into the bottom of the boiler, without affecting the
already heated water at the top. . The second pipe, also with a tap,
leads into the bath, but before reaching it, it joins a short pipe coming
from the boiler. This short pipe has also a tap. When this wa&
closed and the other open, cold water flowed into the bath ; reversing
the movement, then the warm water flowed into the bath. The third
pipe is not visible in all its course, as the part is not yet excavated,
but there is no doubt that it supplied the basin in the niche. It ha&
also a tap at its commencement, and in passing the boiler joins a
short pipe with a tap, rendering possible, in the same way, the mixing
of hot and cold water in the basin. The boiler has a very short pipe
close to the bottom, to let out the water, which must have been caught
in vessels. — Athenaeum, Dec. 22, 1894.
ROME. — Museum in the Baths of Diocletian. — Several new halls of
sculpture have been opened in this museum ; besides these two halls
have been devoted to antiquities of the Lombard period. One con-
tains objects in use by men and the other contains women's jewelry
and other decorative objects. — Chronique, No. 11, 1895.
Karyatides from the Via Appia. — Brunn in Gesch. d. Griech. Kunstler, i,
542, has gathered together a number of works inscribed with the
names of Greek artists in the Roman period, from which list the artist
of the Medici Venus has long been excluded, on account of the falsity
of the inscription ; and the Kleomenes of the altar at Florence has
been recently excluded on the same ground ; also the relationship of
the Vatican Karyatid and those in the Palazzo Giustiniani, to those
which Diogenes erected in the Pantheon, has grown more and more
improbable. One more statue must be taken from this group ; name-
ly, the Maenad in the Villa Albani, which has passed for a work of
Kriton and Nikolaos. So far as the inscription is concerned there is
no doubt with regard to its genuineness, but the head does not belong
to the body which now bears it. The head is that of a Karyatid and
the body that of a Maenad. In comparison with the head inscribed,
on the back, with the names Kriton and Nikolaos, we may bring the
following series of Karyatides : one in the Villa Albani No. 628 ; one
in the Vatican, Braccio Nuovo No. 47 ; one in the British Museum ;
another in the Villa Albani No. 725; and one of which, a cast, exists
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248 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQV. [Italy.]
in the Bagni Bernini. We know from the testimony of Winckelmann,
that together with this head at least two other Karyatid statues were
found. Brunn has suggested that these statues belonged to a building
of Herodes Atticus in the Via Appia, under the name of the Triopian
Pagus. This Triopeion is further known by extensive inscriptions
now in Paris. The goddesses here worshipped, according to the poem
of Marcellus, were Demeter and Kore and the elder and younger
Faustina, empresses who were worshipped as goddesses. The goddess
who gave her name to the region is Deo-Demeter, whose original
abode was upon the Triopian promontory near Knidos. The reason
that Herodes selected her would seem to be, that he was initiated into
these mysteries by his teacher Theagenes of Knidos. With regard to
the cult of this Triopian Demeter, we have information in the sixth
hymn of Kallimachos. He pictures a procession in which a kalathos
filled with ears of corn was drawn in a wagon as the symbol of the
goddess. This kalathos described by Pliny (N. H. xxi, 5) had the
same form as that borne on the head of our Karyatid es ; which seems
to make it clear that they were attendants of Demeter. In spite of
the abundant representations of Kanephoroi, the use of such figures
as free standing columns was not common. Furtwangler refers this
entire group to the school of Skepas and Praxiteles, but the Karyati-
des now in question appear to have been based upon Athenian proto-
types of the fifth century. — H. Bulle, Roem. Mitth., ix, p. 134.
A Female Head; a Copy of the Nike of Paionios. — In the possession of
Fraulein Hertz in Rome, there is a marble head representing a youth-
ful woman, whose hair is doubly bound by a taenia, the extremities
of which fall behind her ears. The way in which this taenia is bound
is found only upon the fragmentary head of the Nike of Paionios, and
when we come to compare this head with the head of the Nike, it is
found to be a copy with very slight variations of the famous Nike or
at least of a head from the same school, the same atelier and in all
probability from the very same hand. The importance of this head
for the history of Greek sculpture of the fifth century and especially
in enlarging our conception of the work of Paionios is self-evident.
The inscription on the base of the Nike statue, which has been assigned
roughly between the years 450-420, may now be placed at the earlier
rather than the later date if we judge from the style of this head. Had
the statue been made as late as 420, Paionios would undoubtedly
have profited in the treatment of transparent drapery from the art of
Pheidias. The monument which comes nearest in style to the Nike,
is the fine Maenad relief in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, published by
Winter in the 50th Winckelmann Program and assigned by him to the
middle of the fifth century. — A. Amelung, in Roem. Mitth.} ix, p. 162.
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Herakles with Hydra in the Museum of the Capitol. — In the year 1620,
when the church of S. Agnese outside of the Porta Pia was being
rebuilt, there was found a much injured figure of a youth of strong,
muscular form. Both arms and the greater portion of both legs were
missing. Out of this torso, the sculptor Algardi made a restoration of
a Herakles in contest with the Hydra, and the subsequent discovery
of a leg entwined by the body of a Hydra was thought to substantiate
the restoration. This composition, however, is out of analogy with
classic productions, and other fragments more certainly connected
with this statue are made the basis of a new restoration of a Herakles
with the stag. The pose of the body is strictly analogous to that of
well-known examples of this type. — L. Pallat, in Roem. Mitth., ix, 4,
p. 334.
Prodigy of the Leqk> Fulminata. — Father Grisar publishes in the Civilta
CaUolica for 1895, No. i, a note entitled the " Prodigy of the Legio Fulmi-
nata" and the column of Marcus Aurelius. This legend, so famous in
the annals of primitive Christianity, is sculptured on the base of the
column of Marcus Aurelius, the bas-reliefs of which represent the
campaign undertaken by the Emperor against the Quadi. The prodigy
took place in the summer of 174 a. d. The bas-relief naturally rep-
resents it as it would be explained by Pagans and especially by the
philosophic Emperor. The relief is well preserved and is here repro-
duced from a photograph with accuracy for the first time. The
prodigy as narrated by three independent witnesses was as follows :
During the campaign against the Quadi, the Roman troops were in
danger of dying of thirst, but prayers having been offered up, a heavy
and refreshing rain came down, and this was so manifestly by the
intervention of a superior power, that Marcus Aurelius felt it necessary
to recognize the fact and to affirm it publicly. According to Apolli-
naris and to Tertullian, it was the Christian soldiers of the army who
by their prayers brought down the rain ; and especially, says Apolli-
naris, was this the case with one of the legions, which was called in
consequence ever afterwards the Legio Fulminata. This prodigy took
place immediately before the battle and was the means of giving
victory to the Romans, not only by refreshing them, but by turning
hail and lightning and a violent storm against the barbarians. In the
relief the rain proceeds from a winged spirit like a Genius, with
extended arms, whose beard and figure almost entirely disappear in
the falling rain. This figure has none of the characteristics of a god,
and therefore, the identification of it as Jupiter Pluvius, so common
among archaeologists, is an error. The figure is nothing else than the
personification of the rain and a sign that it was due to superhuman
causes. This bas-relief is, therefore, far from invalidating the testi-
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250 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy. J
mony of early Christian writers, and is, in fact, a strong proof in their
favor. Grisar is opposed to Petersen's opinion that the legend arose
in consequence of this very bas-relief, and cites Harnack, who proves
conclusively the existence of a letter written by Marcus Aurelius to
the senate in which he mentions this prodigy. This official declara-
tion by the Emperor is supported also by Mommsen in a recent paper
in Hermes, 1895, No. i. Grisar is opposed both to Harnack and to
Mommsen in that he does not regard the imperial letter as the sole
source of the legend, but gives independent value to the early Christian
testimony to the fact.
RUVO (Apulia.) — Vase Representing Theseus in the Sea. — In the Not d.
Scav. 1893, p. 242, Sig. Jatta has described a vase from Ruvo, as has
been already recorded in the news of this Journal, ix, p. 453, to which
we refer for details. The principal painting represents the descent of
Theseus into the sea, the myth related by Pausanias i, 17, 2, and illus-
trated by a painting by Mikon. The figures we believe to have been
correctly identified by Sig. Jatta as Theseus, Poseidon and Nereus-
between a Nereid and Amphitrite. The peculiarity of this picture is
that Theseus holds in his left hand a box or shell in which to place
the ring which Nereus had thrown into the sea. This myth is depicted
upon three other vases, as has been already noted. Upon a Krater
from Bologna, Theseus is represented as miraculously carried into the
deep by Triton. Such a representation is a priori probable in the
school of Polignotos and likely to have been followed by Mikon. The
more schematic mode of representation and the kind of garment worn
by Theseus are indications that the vase from Ruvo was made in
Magna Graecia, perhaps at Tarentum. — Petersen, in Roem. Mitth~
ix, p. 229.
TARENTUM. — Mosaic Pavement and Bronze Law Tablets. — Two discov-
eries deserving mention have taken place at Taranto, the one relating
to art, the other to epigraphy. In digging the foundations of some
building the workmen came across the remains of a Roman house of
large dimensions, which had been erected on ruins of a still earlier
period. In this house were discovered three mosaic pavements, one
of which, of considerable size, was adorned with a large mythological
scene. It is of rectangular form, 5.40 metres long and 3 wide. At.
the sides are decorations in geometrical design, while the centre field
contains a figure of Bacchus, 2.10 metres high. The god is represented
nude and beardless, standing erect, with his left hand resting on the
thyrsus, and in the right hand a vase, from which he is pouring wine
into the open mouth of a panther crouching at his feet. The figures
are drawn in simple black outlines, the panther's teeth and some
ornaments (as the crown on Bacchus's head and the animal's collar)-
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[Italy.] ARCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 251
being picked out in other colours. It is observed by Signor Viola,
director of the excavations at Taranto, that, while mosaics generally
represent copies of ancient pictures, this figure in outline evidently
reproduces some ancient statue. Indeed, a subject which may be the
original of this composition is to be seen in a statue of Bacchus in the
National Museum of Naples. The style of the work, and especially
the marginal decorations, denote a late period, perhaps the third
century of our era.
Later on were discovered on the same site six fragments of bronze
tablets, bearing inscribed parts of a Roman municipal law. Signor
Viola, on being commissioned by the Government to continue these
researches, succeeded in finding a new fragment, which completed the
ninth tablet of the law, as was known by the numerical indication it
bore on the top. — Halbherr, in Athenaeum, March 23, 1895.
TERRACINA. — Note on the Discovery of the Temple of Jupiter Anxur. —
We promised in a late issue of the Journal a note on what proved to
be the most important discovery made in Italy during 1894, that of
the temple of Jupiter Anxur at Terracina (Jour. ix. No. 4, p. 606).
The details of the discovery are given in the Notizie degli Scavi (1894,
pp. 96-111) by Sig. L. Borsari, from which we make the following
summary.
The temple of Jupiter Anxur is mentioned by Livy, Virgil and
Servius. Iivy speaks (xxviii. 11) of lightning having fallen on this
temple in the year 548 u. c. and shortly afterwards records the same
fact (xl. 45) for the year 575. Virgil (Mn. vn. 799) has a passage which
shows that the worship of Jupiter Anxur was not restricted to Ter-
racina, but extended to the neighboring towns, and it also tells us that
the temple must have been situated on a hill from which the entire
surrounding territory could have been visible. Servius in his com-
ment on this passage reports that it was the infant Jupiter who was wor-
shiped under this title of Anxur. This fact is confirmed by a coin of the
gens Vibia which represents a youthful god seated, with the inscription
Iovi Axur. Although a few writers such as Contatori, Smith (in his
dictionary) and Vinditti suggested that the temple might be located on
the bluff immediately overhanging the town, the general opinion has
been that the ancient structures still remaining at that point belong
not to the early Roman period, but to the time of the Goths. In fact
M. De La Blanch&re, and writers on the history of architecture like
Mothes, {Die Baukumt d. Mitielalters in Italieri), regard the great arches
on the bluff as the remains of a fortress or prsetorium of King Theo-
doric and as belonging, consequently, to about 500 A. D. The recent
excavations prove, however, that these arcades and vaults were part of
the substructure of the temple of Jupiter Anxur and belong, as might
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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
[Italy.]
have been expected from their good quality, to a very early Roman
period. The first discovery was entirely fortuitous ; a certain Capponi
in search for treasure dug a hole, and at a depth of 2.50 m. found a wall
of local stone surmounted by a cornice of excellent style. This was
recognized to belong to the base of a temple by a relative of the exca-
vator, Sig. Pio Capponi, who identified it with the temple of Jupiter
Anxur. His opinion was confirmed by some of the remains of mosaic
pavement found close by. The municipality of Terracina, which
owned the site, placed at the disposal of Capponi the necessary funds
for the excavation. In a short while the entire plan of the temple was
uncovered, oriented from north to south and measuring 33.50 m. by
19.70 m. We reproduce the plan from the Scavi, as well as both a
transverse and a longitudinal section.
Fio. 88.— Ground-plan of the Temple and Platform.
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It was built like all the rest of the temple in opus incertum and was
externally decorated with semi-columns attached to the walls which
were also built of opus incertum, except their lower portion, which was
formed of a half drum of travertine. Several of these semi-cylindrical
blocks of travertine were found. There remain in place along the
walls of the cella the square blocks of travertine upon which the semi-
columns rested, of which there were six on each long side and four at
the end. Against this end wall at the point marked E on the plan is
a brick base, with its cornices, the object of which was to bear the
statue of the god. The pavement is of white mosaic surrounded by a
dark framework.
The pr<mao8 is 12.80 m. long, and on its front there are still the
remains of the staircase. It was decorated with large channelled
Fig. 34.— Cross Section or Substructure.
columns and with capitals of Corinthian style, all in the alabaster of
the quarries of the Circcean Mount. The fragments of the Corinthian
foliage that have been found, show from their masterly execution that
they belong to the very beginning of the imperial period.
The stylobate, which is quite well preserved along the eastern side,
consists of large blocks of sandstone with a cornice, a lintel, a concave
and a reversed moulding This part, also, from the perfection of its
execution, belongs to the period between the close of the Republic and
the beginning of the Empire. To the same time belonged the stamps
a. 1 . .". t.t - " y " "f" " M
Fio. 36. — Long Section of Substructure.
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254 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.]
on the tiles and bricks which were found during the excavation : some
of these were already known and belong without doubt to this age ;
others are new, such as that mentioning L. Domitius Lupus and a slave
named Felix. There are certain lion heads also, in the same alabaster,
used for gargoyles, which appear to belong to an even earlier date.
The temple was completely destroyed by fire, which even calcinated
some of the large blocks of the basement on the eastern side. The
violent action of the fire is shown everywhere, and a heavy layer of
ashes and coals covers the ruins. It is also evident that there was
willful destruction, for the statues which decorated the temple were
broken in many pieces, so that only a few fragments have been re-
covered, sufficient merely to show the good design and the taste with
which they were executed. The disappearance of the columns, of
which but a single drum was found, and of many other architectural
features, lead to the belief that, on the destruction of the building
itself, its remains were cast down the mountain side. This destruction
of a magnificent temple is probably due to the reaction which took
place after 426 a. d., when Theodoric issued his decree for the destruc-
tion of Pagan temples*.
Fig. 86.— Face of the Substructure.
Along the east side of the temple, among the ashes, there were
found many votive objects, which had been spared by the fire. Two
inscriptions show that Venus possessed a sanctuary in the large
temple. Only a few coins were found : one is of Augustus, one of
Faustina the younger, and one of Marcus Aurelius.
Cave of the Oracle — At a short distance from the temple to the east,
there came to light a singular structure. It consisted of four walls,
about .75 m. high, forming a rectangle of 6.90 m. by 6 m. It is
marked C on the plan. Within this structure is a natural rock which
is pierced at a point corresponding to the centre of the rectangle. It
was found that under this rock there opened up a small cavern, now
hardly 7 m. in depth, which communicated with the outside in some
manner. It is certainly the cavern for the answers of the oracle. It
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 255
is conjectured that the origin of the sacredness of this rock lies in its
having been struck by lightning at some time, and so having become
a bidental shrine, because Jupiter had shown his power upon it.
Hence it was shut off from public gaze and was covered in by a small
roof, supported by brick columns of the Ionic order.
The Substructure. — The temple having been found, it became evident
that the great arcades should be recognized as the substructure which
sustained the platform upon which the temple was erected. This
substructure extended for 62 m. along the southwest side and 24 m.
Fig. 37. — Arcades on Side of Substructure.
along the northwest side. It must be granted that the labor of form-
ing a suitable plateau upon which to erect the temple was colossal.
It was necessary at the rear to cut away a large section of the moun-
tain, and in order to conceal the rough rock-side, a portico was erected
behind the cella. It was built also of opus incertum, covered with
stucco, painted in yellow and red and with columns of Corinthian
order. At its base it was bordered by a line of four steps, cut away
out of the live rock. The front of the platform had to be formed by
the erection of this immense mass of brickwork in the form of arcades
and vaults. The plateau thus formed is irregular in shape. The rain
water was collected in two large cisterns, marked G and H on the
plan. The axis of the temple is not normal to the front of the sub-
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256 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.]
Structure, for the latter follows the form of the hillside, while the
temple was exactly oriented. Communication was established be-
tween the temple area and the plain below by a staircase marked B
on the plan. It is interesting to note that a second cavern, also used
for religious rites, was reached from the interior of the arcade of the
substructures.
The reason for the choice of this especial site for the temple was
evidently that from this point it could be seen as far away as Fondi
and Gaeta to the east, and Antium and Ardea to the west ; it also
overhung the city from which it would have been invisible had it
been built upon the summit of the bluff. This fact is a final proof of
its identity with the temple of Jupiter Anxur, as it corresponds
exactly to the position given to it by Virgil.
(Model. — The temple was defended by a citadel which was reached
by a staircase cut in the rock at the point marked L on the plan. But
few of the remains of the fortifications of the citadel have been found.
They connect with the great surrounding wall, with its towers, which
protect the mountain along the north-northwest slope. The structure
in opus incertum is of the same quality as that of the walls of the tem-
ples, and its substructures entirely exclude the possibility that this
fortified wall should be of the time of Theodoric the Goth.
Votive Objects. — It is not improbable that the name Anxur repre-
sents the original divinity worshipped by the Volscans, to- which con-
ception there was added later, in this as in so many other cases, the idea
of Jupiter. This is confirmed by the character of the votive objects,
which are genuine playthings (crepundia). These rare objects are all
of fused lead, and represent the furniture of a dining-room, — table,
plates and kitchen utensils, — all executed in the style which was in
vogue at the close of the Republic or the beginning of the Empire.
There is a mensa tripes, or table, with three legs, a seat like an arm-
chair, or cathedra supina; then comes a four-legged, oblong table,
which reproduces the sideboard, upon which the dishes were to be
placed as they were brought in, and finally the candelabrum, to light
the feast, and the youthftil waiter (puer dapifer) bringing in a tray, or
ferculum. It is known that especial garments and especial sandals
(vestis cenatoria) were put on in going to table by the Romans, hence
we have a small model of such sandals. Then follow the dishes for
the table (patinae) ; some of which are represented with the viands
upon them, 9uch as a plate with two fishes. There is one of extreme
elegance, in the form of a shell ; with one exception, all have two
handles. Some of the dishes seem to be for fruit. Strange to say,
there seems to be but one vase which could be used for drinking. It
is certain that it was to Jupiter as a child that these playthings, small
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 257
reproductions of objects in actual use, were offered as gifts by some
worshipper. Almost the only other similar collection of objects is
that now in the Museum of Reggio, which were found in the tomb of
a child.
When I visited Terracina in 1893, 1 had two photographs taken of
the substructures of the temple, and shall here reproduce them (Fig.
37 and Plate xvn), as they may add to the interest of the above notice ;
now that it is proved that these substructures belong to at least as
early a period as the time of Augustus, their importance is consid-
erable for the study of Roman architecture.
VERUCCHIO— Early Italic Necropolis.— Some fresh contribution to the
study of early Italic culture has been brought by the new explorations
made by Dr. Tosi at the necropolis of Verucchio, near Rimini. Here
more than fifty tombs have recently been examined, and some of
them are singularly rich in sepulchral furniture. The terracotta ossu-
aries, with geometrical decoration, all of the so-called Villanova typer
in the shape of two truncated cones joined together at their wide basey
are almost always single-handled, and with a cap-like cover on the
top. The tombs in one part of the cemetery were so crowded together
that the ossuaries were piled one upon another, a circumstance not
hitherto observed in the necropolises of this type, but only in those
of the terramare. This fact adds weight to the hypothesis of Helbig
and Pigorini, who admit an ethnographical affinity between the
inhabitants of the terrarruire and the Italians of the Villanova period.
A great portion of the grave furnishings were found inside the ossu-
aries, together with the burnt bones, but many of the objects were also
found outside. They consist, amongst others, of many bronze fibulae,
of which several were very archaic ; two bracelets of bronze wire, each
with twenty-one spirals, still preserving their elasticity ; a razor in the
shape of a half-moon, with incised ornaments ; and a curved iron
dagger, a rare type in cemeteries of this character. Of terracottas the
most remarkable is a double-crested helmet of natural size, which
probably served as a cover to the ossuary of some warrior. It is an
exact copy of a real bronze helmet, such as those found in the tombs
of Tarquihia. We thus learn that this kind of helmet was common
to the ancient settlers both on the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic shores.
The handle of a cover in the form of a rude naked female figure, with
the left hand on her breast, and the right on the lower part of the body,
is an imitation of the bronze statuettes imported into Italy by Oriental
traders. —Halbherr in Athenaeum, March 23; cf. Brizio in Not. d.
Scavi, 1894, pp. 292-307. . .S-v ■■/ .*x, ''jff* <\
VETULONIA— Close of the Report for 1893.— In the October number
of the Scavi, Signor Falchi publishes the close of his report on the
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258 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.]
excavations in the tumulus of La Pietrera. It had at first been the
plan to entirely demolish this tumulus, which had yielded so many
Tiighly artistic treasures already described in this Journal. But it
was found, in 1893, that this total demolition would endanger the
stability of the domical chamber in the centre of the mound, so that
it was decided not to carry the excavations any lower than the stratum
in which the rich funerary objects had been found. The removal of
this much of the earth was comparatively easy. Of great importance
was the discovery of sculptures in the local stone called sassofetido,
near the domical tomb, similar in style to those already found and
noticed in the Journal. The best preserved of those is a fine female
bust of natural size, to which probably belongs the head found during
the preceding year. The arms, which are damaged, are bent, and the
hands folded on the breast. The figure is without drapery, but wears
a necklace and a highly decorated belt, with rampant winged lions.
There is also a second bust of similar size and style, but in very bad
preservation, and fragments of hands and other parts of figures.
These fragments, like those precedingly found, were carved on slabs
in very high relief. They were found together with large slabs of
stone, and were placed in such a way as to show that they had been
removed from the interior of the vaulted chamber by whoever had
broken into the top of the dome.
On the east side of the tumulus was found a small cone which
marked the place of a deposit of funerary objects, placed as usual
around a skeleton. These objects were, however, of but little im-
portance.
Interior of the Chamber. — Considerable work was undertaken in the
interior of the domical chamber in order to insure its stability, and
in the course of it a few discoveries were made, consisting mainly in
the lower end of two statues in high relief, of natural size. The two
feet placed close together, rested upon a heavy, formless base, slightly
pyramidal in shape, which was fixed in the ground in such a way as
to make it appear that the figures rested on the pavement.
Excavations at Le Migliarine. — Having finished the preceding exca-
vation, Signor Falchi decided, in the light of all the experience thus
gained, to explore some of the many totrrb&^ying at the feet and to
the northeast of the hill of Vetulonia, about three kilometres from La
Pietrera, along the Emilian Way, with the object of completing, by
trial excavations on different sites, the survey of the necropolis of
Vetulonia. The first site chosen was at a place called Le Migliarine.
There were here, on the left, an artificial rise of land, and on the right
two small tumuli. The first trial was made in the slightly rising ground,
and here thei»-caiiie.toJighta.drckjo£.whil^ skhs p^acflfiLupgighkm-
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 259
the ground, which proved the presence of a circle tomb similar to
those found at Vetulonia itself. After the discovery of minor objects
of a style similar to the contents of the tombs in Vetulonia, an im-
portant funerary deposit came to light close to the centre of the mound.
This consisted of: (1) a large bronze vase, with two handles; (2) gold
bracelets identical in form and style to those in Vetulonia itself, two
of which were reproduced in a recent number of the Journal, and
decorated, like them, with rows of heads and bands of filigree work ;
(3) some gold balls ; (4) four gold fibulae, the body of which is formed
of a winged animal ; (5) some vases, dishes and two candelabras of
bronze ; (6) many terracotta vases of Bucchero ware like those from
Vetulonia, etc. All these objects were placed upon a plank of black
and shining wood, covered with bronze plate. Not far from this
deposit were found two large stone cones, like those found in Vetu-
lonia itself.
We may, therefore, conclude that even in the plain, about three
kilometres from the central necropolis of Vetulonia, there still were
no tombs belonging to a later age than those on the hill itself, and that
these plain tombs contained objects entirely similar both in date and
style. We may conclude that it is pretty certain that this famous city
of Vetulonia fell into decay and was abandoned at last by its illustrious
inhabitants at a very early date, and this date, in view of the entire
absence of Hellenic vases in its tombs, may be determined to be earlier
than the 6th century b. c.
Tomb of the Potter. — One of the two mounds on the opposite sicte of
the road was then explored. At about two and a half metres from
the centre there was found, at a very slight depth, a funerary deposit
of exceptional extent, character and interest. In contrast to the other
tombs, there was no trace of the usual stones, or any other sign of
protection, the fact that these objects had escaped the ordinary fate,
and were merely covered with earth, led to their almost complete
preservation. In only two other cases has an exception been found to
this general law of destruction. These two exceptions were the tomb
of the Chief and that of Val di Campo. Signor Falchi calls attention
to the fact that all the tombs with stoned and broken contents thus
far discovered were of women, whereas these three exceptions are of
men. Hence it would seem as if the stoning were confined to those
tombs containing rich jewelry, which it was thus sought to render
useless for the future.
The fictile objects found in this Tomb of the Potter consisted of a
large number of unguent vases of great variety and peculiarity of
form, arranged with great care around two bronze vases full of burnt
bones, with a few other objects of bronze and iron. There were no
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260 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJSOLOOF. [Italy.]
such objects of gold or silver, or other precious materials as were
found in the preceding tomb. Among the most peculiar of the unguent
vases, the following may be mentioned: (1) Vase in the form of a
dead hare, its head fallen back and its limbs extended ; this is the type
of eight or ten vases, each varying somewhat in detail, especially in
the position of the animal, and all are in very delicate reddish-yellow
clay. (2) Vase in the form of a horse's head perfectly reproduced,
with its harness painted in black. (3) Vase in the form of a crouching
doe, with legs bent under her. (4) Vase in the form of a crouching
hare, with ears stretched back. (5) Vase in the form of a goose or
duck. (6) Vase in the form of an Egyptian sphynx, with beardless
human head, and tail curling over and resting upon the body. (7)
Vase in the form of a 'boot. (8) Vase in the form of a helmeted head.
(9) Vase in the form of a kneeling nude female figure, with arms bent
and hands closed; the long hair falls loosely over the shoulders and
the opening of the vase is in the top of the head. This figure is of
exceptional importance, as it is executed with a degree of naturalness
and a harmony of lines and proportions such as show the potter who
modelled it to have been a genius. He had the passion to imitate
perfectly anything that struck his fancy. It would seem as if this is
his tomb, and that in it were placed by his family the best samples of
his art, together, perhaps, with the instrument of his craft, as will be
later on described.
Cav. Falchi adds : " These ceramics, which are in a great part new
in Etruria, but not new in the Orient, are of such inestimable value,
not only for ethnology, but for the chronology and history of art, that
I hope they will be the object of careful study. In this hope I call
the attention of the learned to the appearance in a single tomb of these
fictile objects of such great variety, which appear to have been pro-
duced by a single hand, and in particular I wish to call attention to
the arrangement of the hands of the kneeling woman, with her fists
closed except for the thumbs, which are pointed upward exactly as in
one of the sculptures in sassofetido stone found in the tomb of la
Pietrera.
The bronze objects were placed close together in the centre of the
funeral deposit, and included two high and elegant wine jars, or oino-
choai, a large, smooth basin, full of burnt bones, a bronze box resting
on four feet, also full of bones, and finally a small instrument, with a
long handle, in which is stuck a small blade of the same length, ending
with a single sharp edge, which is probably the instrument used by
the potter to model in wet earth the objects which he thought worthy
of reproduction, some of which he must have seen in distant lands,
while others he imitated from native originals. Toward the centre of
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[Italy.] ARCHJEOLOQWAL NEWS. 261
the mound there was discovered, as in the preceding circle tomb, a
cone of 8a88oforte stone identical in form with all those found in the
other tombs, as well of inhumation as cremation.
The exploration of the neighboring mound of the same dimensions
and form, shows that it had been already searched and plundered in
early days by means of a deep ditch.
Tombs of Franchetia. — The Pietrera hill is bounded on the south by
a narrow and deep gully, called Franchetta, the opposite side of which
is bounded by a low slope. Along the summit was visible a regular
series of artificial rises on the surface, arranged in straight lines in
ever-increasing size from below upward, and terminating in a real
tumulus of considerable size. The lowest and smallest mound was
first explored, and disclosed a walled circle made of stones placed
together without cement, and encircling a number of tombs for inhu-
mation, long since despoiled, and separated by large upright slabs of
stone, while other slabs were used to cover them. The few objects
found were of the same character and age as those found in all the
other tombs.
The second tomb, instead of being surrounded by a wall of stones,
was encircled by large white slabs of sawovivo, placed on end near
each other. The diameter of the circle was 18 m. and the height 4 m.
A square hole in the centre, measuring 4 m. by 2 m. by 2.30 m., con-
tained two skeletons. Upon the head of each was placed a beautiful
bronze ax, in perfect state of preservation. Its round and heavy iron
handle was covered with a heavy bronze plate. It is valuable as
showing the manner in which the head of the ax was secured to the
handle. Probably its perfect state of preservation is due to the fact
of its being an instrument for religious use. Near it was a bronze
incense-burner, similar to others already found, and a conical helmet
in poor condition. On the chest of the same skeleton were various
bronze fibulae, covered with gold leaf, and others with amber bow.
All the rest of the central cavity had been destroyed by means of a
deep trench which had cut through the centre of the skeletons.
The third tomb differed from the preceding only in its slightly larger
size, and it also contained a central cavity, which, like the others, had
been explored in early times. It contained the remains of a skeleton
and no objects of importance.
While the preceding three tombs projected so slightly above the flat
surface as to allow of easy cultivation, the fourth was a genuine
tumulus of pronounced shape, 4.30 m. in circumference. It was
bounded by a stone wall, which formed a terrace, and is still preserved
in some proportions. Although this mound appeared not to have
suffered from exploration, it had evidently been anciently visited, and
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262 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.]
nothing was found in it but an object left by chance, namely, a frag-
ment of a statue of natural size, similar to one found last year in the
great mound of the Pietrera, but of far greater importance. The frag-
ment consists of the head, with part of the neck and chest, and is
remarkable as having been executed up to a certain point and then,
when still unfinished, thrown away. It is, therefore, of extraordinary
value in its very incompleteness, as revealing the process used in
blocking out sculptures at this early date. The head, like that of the
Pietrera, is of a woman. In regard to its date, Cav. Falchi regards it
as contemporary with the first domical chamber of the Pietrera,
whereas the second tomb described above is evidently later than the
destruction of this first chamber, as it contains some of the blocks of
stones with which it was constructed. Falchi goes so far as to believe
that this head, blocked out and then thrown away, is that of the same
person whose finished head was found in the Pietrera mound, so close
are the similarities.
Cav. Falchi closes as follows : " This report does not complete the
account of the excavations on the hill of Vetulonia in the autumn of
1893, for there should be added to the magnificent results obtained by
the exploration of its necropolis, a description also of the still more
magnificent results obtained in the area of the city itself of Vetulonia,
within the circuit of its great walls, telling of the uncovering of part
of the city, of its walls preserved after an early fire, of its streets, its
wells, the many objects found in its ruins, including many coins, which
in great part belong to Vetulonia itself. But as Professor Milani has
anticipated such information in his two reports, one called UnaSeconda
Vetulonia, printed as manuscript and communicated to the Lined in
June, 1893, and the other entitled Le Ullime Scoperte Vetulonieri a
Colonna, read at a meeting of the Lincei on November 26, 1 shall speak
of them in my report of future excavations, which I hope to be per-
mitted to continue, not only in the necropolis, but also in the ancient
city."
Excavations During 1894 on the Site of the Later City. — The continuation
of the excavations at the site called PoggiareUo7 led to the uncovering
of a large tract (106 m.) of the main street of a city, thought to be
the late Vetulonia (the city built by the people who abandoned the
ancient Vetulonia), and of a new series of rooms along this street which
seemed to have been used as shops. The street, which is 3.30 m.
wide, has no sidewalks, and shows no traces of the usual ruts formed
by wheels of vehicles. The coins gathered among the carbonized
ruins in these rooms confirm the chronological conclusion expressed
in the Rendiconti dei Lincei, 1894, p. 844 sqq. There are a number of
Etruscan coins, such as a Quinarius of Populonia, and an ounce^of
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ARCHM0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 268
Vetulonia, and six sextants, also of Vetulonia. There are many Ro-
man coins of the sextantial and uncial periods. One coin dates from
88-89 b. c. The latest coin is one attributed by Babelon to the year
84 b. c, which would harmoniz^mth the opinion of 'Professor Milani,
that the city which from the hill of Colonna overlooked the main
roads of Maritime Ktruria, was burnt at the very time (79 b. c.) in
which Volterra and Populonia, falling into the hands of the followers
of Sylla, suffered the destruction which befell all the Etruscan cities
that had espoused the cause of Marius. Only a few objects of art
were found in the course of exploration of these rooms ; among them
are two bronze statuettes of an Etruscan-Roman divinity, or rather a
domestic lares, such as the Romans called Jupiter Scdvator or Oenius
Jovialis.
An attempt was made to excavate in a stratum below the Roman
level; but nothing was found that could be definitely dated from the
Etruscan period. The casual discovery, however, of a late Attic vase,
leads to the hope that systematic excavations within the Pelasgic walls
may bring to light some traces of the pre- Roman city.
Excavations during 1894 at the old Vetulonia. — Necropolis. — The exca-
vations in the necropolis during 1894 were successful. At a short
distance from the Pietrera tumulus, on the street of the tombs,
were found the remains of a rectangular structure, 9.40 m. by 6.10,
built of large blocks of stone without cement, but worked with a
chisel. In two were found fragments of fictile decoration belonging
to the period between 350-250. In the same part of the necropolis,
and precisely where last year was found the magnificent gold fibula
decorated a pulviscolo with figures of animals, there was found a circle
tomb in which, together with many fragmentary bronzes, there came
to light a well-preserved bronze boat It is smaller and more simple
than that of the tomb of the Chief (see Journal for 1888), and
corresponds almost exactly with that of the museum of Cagliari, pub-
lished by Pais (Perrot, iv, fig. 83). An interesting feature of this
vessel is a handle ending in a hook, surmounted by a decorative ani-
mal in massive bronze, formed by two affronted ram's heads.
Poggio alia Guardia. — On this part of the site, not far from the street
of tombs, there were found under a mass of stones two cylindrical
titulas of reddish-yellow earth, decorated, the one with eleven hori-
zontal bands in relief, of the rope pattern ; the other with ten lines of
the same decoration. These are the first ritulas of this characteristic
type that had been found in this necropolis, and their importance is
great in connection with the origin and the development of this vase,
which is the prototype of the cista a cordoni. Together with these pails
were found five umbilicated platters of the same reddish-yellow earth,
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264 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Italy.]
an unguent bottle of the Greek islands, and other fragments belonging
to a tomb of the eighth century.
On the same site, but among the Italic well tombs, there were found
five tombs of the class called, by Falchi, tombs of strangers. These
funerary deposits correspond to those of the circle tombs in which
there are no remains of either buried or burnt bodies, except certain
crowns of teeth which were often found near the most precious objects.
One of these deposits has given a number of cast bronzes of a
new type, with decoration of human, animal and floral forms belong-
ing to the very beginning of Etruscan art. Another of these deposits
is composed of simple necklaces of amber and of bronze, but is remark-
* able for a pendant in the form of a miniature chariot with its horses,
and two persons seated in it. What is most interesting about this
■chariot is, that it is not in the form of the usual biga, such as have
been found in the shape of toys in some Italic tombs, but seems to
present the original type of the Lucumanian carpentum of the Etrus-
cans and Romans. The two persons seated on a high-back bench
£ - , seem to be a man and his wife, and remind one of Livy's description
of the chariot upon which Tarquinius Priscus and his wife Tanaquil
arrived in Rome, and of that used by Tullia after the murder of the
second Tarquin. It appears to be drawn by mules.
From an already disturbed tomb in this vicinity, there comes a
monument which will at once attract attention, and is the most im-
portant object found during the excavations of 1894. It is a stele of
sandstone, 1.07 m. high, .56 m. broad and .16 m. thick, upon which is
a long Etruscan inscription, and beside this has scratched upon its
surface a warrior walking toward the left, with a pointed beard, wear-
ing a helmet with a crest and coda, and holding in his right hand a
large iron shield ; between the legs is a lanceolated palm. The emblem
on the shield is a star of six rays, obtained by segments of a circle.
The helmet corresponds to a couple of others found at Vetulonia, but
the battle ax with short handle and double edge, with which the war-
rior is armed, does not correspond to any of the arms which have
Heretofore been found in the excavations. The inscription is in parts
very difficult to read ; it begins with the well-known prenomen aides;
its palaeography corresponds to the inscription on the cup in the tomb
of the Chief.
Professor Milani concludes as follows : " In the technique and char-
acter of the decoration, this stele, the first which had been found at
Vetulonia, recalls the well-known ones of Lemnos, Pesaro, Novilara,
and the region of Padua. But in the subject and in other respects, it
should be rather connected with the sculptured steles of the plain of
Volterra, especially those of the plain of Fiesole described by me in
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[Italt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 265
the Notizie degli Scavi, 1889, pp. 153, 154 ; 1892, p. 465, and compared
with the monuments of the Hittites. Ethnographically, and through '
its Asiatic resemblances, the double battle-ax of the warrior is espe-
cially remarkable, called in Greek ireX**!*, d#n7, Aa/?pv?, fiavTrkrj(, and in
Latin securis, bipennis, dolabra. We find it used by the Trojan Pisander
in attacking Menelaos, drawing it out from beneath his shield (n. xiii, ,
611), and also by the Trojan warriors in the fight of the ships (n. xv,
711). This is the weapon of Zeus Labrandeus, of Karia; the weapon
of Zeus Dolichenus, of Lykia ; the weapon, or attribute, of the Pelasgic
Dionysos, of Tenedos, which passed also to Pagasi in Thessaly, to
Heroia in Arcadia and in Thrace (Myth of Lykourgos) ; it was the
primitive attribute of Hephaistos, the great maker of weapons of the
Tyrrhenian-Pelasgic Lemnos; the weapon of the Amazons, of the
Scythians, and the Hittites (Perrot, iv, p. 800, fig. 279). The Asiatic
or Pelasgic origin of this weapon is thus evident, and I therefore see in
its presence at Vetulonia, on a monument which is certainly one of
the most archaic of Etruria proper, and which in other ways also
recalls Asia Minor and the Pre-Hellenic and Tyrrhenian-Pelasgic settle-
ments, a new and eloquent argument in favor of the Asiatic, of the
Pelasgic or Pelargic origin of the Etruscans." — Not. d. Scavi, 1895, pp.
22-27.
Date of the Earliest Monuments. — M. Salomon Reinach, in his Asiatic
news in the Revue Arch. 1894, refers to my note in this Journal
ix, p. 213, on the domical structure at Vetulonia, adding that of course
I cannot possibly mean that it belongs to the seventh century b. c.
Such, however, was the date that I intended. I simply follow in this
the opinion of the two men most conversant with the excavations, Prof.
Milani and Cav. Falchi. In fact Milani, on p. 24 of the Scavi for
1895, has changed his opinion, and would refer the sculptures and
architecture of this monument to an even earlier date — to the eighth,
rather than to the seventh century — and in a note says that for many
reasons, which he will give elsewhere, he is of the opinion that the
chronology of the earliest architectural and figured Etruscan monu-
ments should be given an earlier date. I should not myself venture
to regard the above monument as earlier than the seventh century.
This date, in so far as it relates to the sculptures, especially to the
steles that are so similar to the Hittite sculptures of the ninth and
eighth centuries, is certainly not too early, and I cannot explain
M. Reinach's objection to it, for which he gives no reason.— Ed.
Early Christian, Mediaeval and Renaissance Art.
BIBLICAL SUBJECTS IN EARLY CHRI8TIAN ART.— M. Mtintz presented
a paper to the Academie des Inscriptions on Christian art and the illus-
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266 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOY. [Italy. J
trations of the Old Testament to be found in the works of art belong-
ing to the early times of the Church. The v century might be
considered as the golden age in Biblical painting. Thanks to the
numerous poems which were devoted at this time to the book of
Genesis, a number of episodes previously unknown to the Romans
became popularized both in Italy and Gaul. The popularity of these
Israelitish subjects is exemplified by the mosaics of Sta. Maria Maggiore
at Rome, executed between the years 432 and 440. M. Miintz states-
that these compositions, contrary to the generally received opinion,,
are completely independent of the celebrated poem of Prudentius —
the " Dittochaion." The artists have gone directly to the Bible for
their inspiration, and consequently their forty compartments have
barely sufficed to trace the history of the Jews from Abraham to
Joshua; whilst Prudentius had comprised in twenty-four metrical
stanzas the whole of the Old Testament from Adam to the Babylonish
captivity. In the v century, likewise, the illuminators had taken
in hand the stories of the Old Testament; and although these minia-
ture illustrations of manuscripts were designed for the select classes,
and not, like the mural decorations, intended to appeal to the com-
mon people, nevertheless it is possible to quote instances where these
almost microscopic pictures have served as a model for large frescoes
and monumental mosaics. It has been lately shown that many of
the miniatures of the celebrated Cottonian Bible (v and vi centuries)
have been reproduced, in an enlarged form, in the mosaics of the
basilica of St. Mark at Venice (xm century). A recent publication, of
which M. Miintz exhibited specimens to the Academy, now permits
us to study, in the minutest details, the most ancient illustrated manu-
script of the Bible, the Greek Genesis of the Imperial Library at
Vienna. These miniatures, the style of which offers many analogies
with the catacomb paintings, are in turn conventional and realistic. —
Athenseum, Sept. 15.
BULLETTINO Dl ARCHEOLOGIA CRISTIANA.— A group of the friends
and pupils of the lately deceased De Rossi have undertaken to con-
tinue the publication of the Bullettino di Archeologia Christiana, founded
by this illustrious archaeologist. Its programme is to be made
broader, and it is to be henceforth open to contributions from all
archaeologists devoted to Christian antiquities. The directing com-
mittee is composed of MM. Enrico Stevenson, M. S. De Rossi, Mariano
Armellini and Orazio Marucchi. We had heard with great regret the
news that this unique and indispensable review was to cease its pub-
lication, and this later news is extremely welcome. The review will
be called the Nuovo Bvilettino, in order to distinguish it from the
earlier series of De Rossi's review.
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 267
THE PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION OF ITALIAN MONUMENTS.-
In connection with the detailed inventory of works of arts in churches
and convents, which was commenced some time since by the order of
the Minister of Public Instruction, it has been ordered that such
works shall always be exposed to view to the public during the hours
when churches are open, and since that time the curtains that often
covered the paintings have been removed and the sacristy doors are
no longer closed.
With a view to employing the best means for the preservation and
restoration of ancient paintings in Italy, the Minister of Public In-
struction has opened a competition on the ancient and modern tech-
nique of all kinds of painting, including mosaic work. The
competitive memoirs presented will be judged in June, and a prize of
3,000 francs given to the winner. — Chronique, 1895, No. 4.
NANNI Dl BANCO. — Marcel Reymond continues in the Gazette des
Beaux Arts (Jan., 1895) his studies on La Sculpture Florentine au XV*
siecle. His second paper is on Nanni di Banco (1374(?)-1421), the con-
temporary of Ghiberti, Donatello, Quercia and Luca della Robbia.
Had he not died comparatively young his fame would undoubtedly
have equalled theirs. M. Reymond points out Vasari's arrant injus-
tice towards Nanni, and believes that he exercised great influence in
forming Donatello's talent. Three of Nanni's fine statues at Or San
Michele are earlier than Donatello's first statue, and when the com-
mission of carving the Madonna over the door of the cathedral was
given to Nanni it was a recognition of him as the foremost sculptor
of the day. His style was nobler, broader, purer and more monu-
mental than that of any other Italian sculptor. He is the connect-
ing link with the xrv century.
ITALIAN ART IN THE TYROL.— Herr Schmoelzer has published in the
Mittheil d. kk. Central- Commission (Vol. 21, No. 1) a description of
the works of art in the churches or chateaux of southern Tyrol.
Many of these belong to the Middle Ages or the early Renaissance.
At Volano is a Last Judgment, dated 1514, by Francesco Verlas, of
Vicenza, and other paintings of about 1500, of the Venetian or Paduan
schools. In the church of San Rocco and in the church of St. Ilario,
near Rovereto, are frescoes of the end of the xn century. At the
castle of Avio are paintings of the purest Giottesque type, and in the
chapel others that are semi-Romanesque, semi-Gothic. At the church
of Vivezzano there is a fine portal of the xvi century, painted glass of
the same period, sculptured tombstones and a remarkable treasury.
At Serso and at San Biagio near Levico are frescoes and sculptures of
about 1500.— Chronique, 1895, No. 6.
AQUILEIA. — Discovery of early cathedral. — Count Lanckoronski, of
Vienna, has intrusted to the well-known archaeologist, Niemann,
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268 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH^OLOGF. [Italy.]
some excavations at Aquileia around the Romanesque cathedral of
this city. They have already resulted in the discovery of the remains
of an earlier church. — Chronique, 1895, No. 3.
BOLOGNA. — Nicolo Dell» Arca. — The reliquary of San Domenico in
the church of the same name at Bologna, designed by Nicola Pisano,
was modified, as is well known, when the grand chapel to this Saint
was constructed, and there was added to this reliquary a splendid
marble top carved by Nicold da Puglia, who is known on this ac-
count as delV Arca. He finished the pyramidal top and the festoons
with graceful putti, the statue of God the Father on the summit, the
Ecce Homo with two angels, the four prophets, the saints Dominico,
Francesco, Floriano, Vitale and Agricola, and the angel at the left
bearing a candlestick. An ordinance of the Commune of Bologna,
dated the 3d of June, 1469, retains all engaged in the work upon this
reliquary to continue until its completion. This ordinance was re-
peated the 19th of September, 1470. Unfortunately, all the documents
referring to this monument are no longer in the archives of the city
of Bologna, but have been restored to the General of the Dominican
order. In the Archivio storico delV Arte, Sept.-Oct., 1894, is published
a document which holds Nicold and his associates to obey the direc-
tions of the Society of Arts of the city. In the same number of the
Archivio is published a document concerning the image of the Virgin,
which is now placed upon the fa$ade of the Palazzo Publico at
Bologna.
Raphael's St. Cecilia. — It is well known that this painting now in
the Royal Picture Gallery of Bologna, was ordered from Raphael in
the year 1513 by Helena Duglioli, wife of Benedetto dalP Olio, a
notary of Bologna. The story goes that one day she had an inspira-
tion from on high to construct a chapel in the church of St. Giovanni
in Monte, at Bologna, in honor of St. Cecilia. Antonio Pucci, her
parent and protector, was put in charge of the construction of the
chapel, and her uncle, Lorenzo Pucci, made the contract with Raphael
for a painting for the high altar. The chapel was finished in 1514.
The following document has been found in the archives of the city of
Bologna: "In the year 1514 the blessed Helena, wife of Mons.
Benedetto dall' Olio, a notary and citizen of Bologna, caused to have
built the chapel of St. Cecilia and had Raphael of Urbino paint the
picture of St. Cecilia, to cost a thousand golden scudi, and presented
it to the church of St. Giovanni in Monte, with other sacred objects."
Amongst the documents of the convent of St. Giovanni is found the
deed of gift of the altar, bearing the date September 9th, 1516, and
signed by the notary Antonio Monterenzi.
Date of the death of Alfonso Lombardi. — Vasari rightly gave the date of
Alfonso Lombardi's death as 1536, but other writers upon this artist hav-
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ing observed that his birth took place in the year 1487 and that his por-
trait in the second edition of the Lives of the Painters represented him
as an old man, inferred that his death must have taken place many
years after the date fixed by Vasari. Girolamo Baruffaldi in his life
of this sculptor puts his death as late as 1560. In the archives of the
city of Bologna there is preserved a letter from the Duke of Mantua,
dated the 7th of December, 1537, which speaks of Alfonso Lombardi
as already dead. This letter, therefore, settles the accuracy of Vasari's
date.
Guido Reni'8 San Carlo.— The archives of the city of Bologna con-
tain a letter from the Senate of Bologna to their Ambassador at Rome,
dated April 2d, 1614, and directing him to make payment to Guido
Reni for the painting of the picture of San Carlo, to be placed in the
church of the Medicants at Bologna. This letter, therefore, enables
us to fix the date of the picture.
NOTICE8 OF PAINTINGS BY GUIDO RENI, CASTELLINO, CAVEDONI, GlLIOLI DA CARPI, IN
San Salvatore. — The church of San Salvatore in Bologna was con-
structed between the years 1605-25; the names of all the contractors,
with the architects, painters, etc., are found in the archives of the
Canons of San Salvatore, now preserved in the archives of the city of
Bologna. These show that payments were made at various dates
between the years 1620 and 1625 for paintings by Guido Reni, Castel-
lino, Cavedoni, Gilioli and Girolamo da Carpi.
Artists of the xiv to xvi centuries at Bologna. — In the series of docu-
menti giudiziari and other documents preserved in the archives of the
city of Bologna, as many as one hundred and twenty-nine entries
of artists living in Bologna from the year 1347 down to 1654 are
published in chronological order in the Archivio. These comprise
the names of architects, sculptors, painters, miniature painters and
goldsmiths.— Archiv. Stor. delV Arte, Sept.-Oct, 1894.
FLORENCE. — Discovery of Ch. of S. Leo. — At Florence, in the works
going on in the centre of the city, there have been discovered the re-
mains of the ancient church of St. Leo, which was one of the first
parishes established in the town. The outer walls are in network
(jUaretto). The principal door has elegant mouldings, and at the
sides a lozenge decoration of black and white marble. — N. Y. Evening
Post, March 2.
A sculptured Romanesque font. — A very important piece of sculpture
of the xn century has been added to the Museum. It is a large bap-
tismal font from the neighborhood of Lucca. It rests upon a very
solid twisted base, upon which are two small figures symbolising bap-
tism and the devil. The basin has a diameter of 1.40 m., and is deco-
rated with open-mouthed masks to carry off the water. The dome
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270 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.]
above it is the most important part of the monument. Above are
the twelve Apostles and below the twelve months of the year repre-
sented by figures draped in ancient style, whose attitudes or actions
correspond to each of the months. Unhappily many of the heads
have been knocked off, and the marble is in poor condition. The
total height of the monument is 3.50 m., and its proportions are har-
monious. Its importance is increased by the rarity of works of sculp-
ture of this century. — Chronique, 1895, No. 4.
Statue of Bonaface viii. — The statue of Bonaface vm, which originally
formed part of the decoration of the fayade of the Cathedral of Flor-
ence, was attributed by Vasari to Andrea Pisano. It had been lost
sight of for several centuries— since the fagade was demolished in 1588
— but has now been returned not to its original position on the facade,
but has been placed inside the main doorway. It was discovered in
the Rucellai gardens some years ago by M. Miintz, purchased by the
antiquarian Bardini, and finally given to the city of Florence by the
Duke of Sermoneta on the condition that it should be placed in the
fayade. — Chronique, 1895, No. 4 ; cf. Revue de VArt Chretien, 1895, No. 3.
A picture by Nicolas Froment. — M. Trabaud contributes to the Gazette
des Beaux Arts a study and an outline of a painting of a tryptich in
the gallery of the Uffizi at Florence, which is classified under the
works of the Flemish school. It is, however, signed by a well-known
French artist, Nicolas Froment, and dated 1461. The inscription
reads: Nicolais Frumenti absolvit hoc opus xi. K. L. Juxn
mcccclxi. This painting originally belonged to the collection of the
Academy of Fine Arts, but was given to the Uffizi in exchange for a
Taddeo Gaddi. The central composition represents the resurrection
of Lazarus ; the right hand side, Martha kneeling before Christ, and
the left side Mary Magdalen washing his feet. — Gaz. des Beaux Arts,
February, 1895. p. 157.
The discovery of a work by Francesco di Simone Ferrucci. — Among the
last works of this pupil of Andrea Verrocchio, Milanesi, in his com-
mentary to Vasari, mentions a tomb to Lemmo Balducci, placed in
the hospital of S. Matteo, in the year 1472. This hospital was trans-
formed into a church in 1735, and the church was demolished when
the present Academy of Fine Arts was built in 1783. Venturi
recently suggested that the bust in the Academy belonged to this
tomb, and now B. Marrai has discovered considerable remains of this
work of Ferrucci. According to the description by Del Migliore, an
eye witness, the tomb had the form of the sepulchral monument of
Pandolfini in the Badia in Florence, and contained a tablet with an
inscription by Poliziano. This is now preserved upon the cenotaph
of Lemmo, which is now in the church of S. Maria nuova, where it
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was placed in the year 1845. The form of the tomb has been
changed considerably ; of the original tomb there remains only the
base with two lions' heads in relief. The frieze with the arms of the
defunct and his medallion likeness is applied to a sarcophagus of later
date. The bust of Lemmo appears to have been not by Ferrucci, but
by some artist of the following century. This bust formerly stood in
the niche now filled by Michel Angelo's statue of St. Matthew. —
ReperL fur Kunstwissen., 1894.
Rediscovery of an important Botticelli. — In the Pitti Palace itself there
has remained practically unknown an important painting by Botticelli.
This picture was hung in a room of the second story occupied until
lately by the Duke of Aosta. It might still have been hanging in
this unworthy place had not an English artist, Mr. William Spence,
visited the Duke and recognized the work as a Botticelli. The paint-
ing is a high canvas picture with two life-size figures. To the right is a
youthful woman who holds in her left hand a mighty halberd and with
her right seizes a centaur by the hair, whose expression and gestures are
indicative of pain and subjection, although he is armed with a heavy
bow and a quiver of arrows hangs over his horse-body. On the back
of the female figure hangs a buckler. Her hair falls below her waist
in waves, and around her head, arms and breast are twisted slender
olive twigs. Her free drapery is covered with triple rings, each
adorned with a diamond. The subject of this picture is not alto-
gether clear, though one is inclined to think of the female figure as an
Athena. But the association of Athena with a centaur is so unusual
that we are inclined to look for a symbolic meaning, such as the
triumph of wisdom over brute force; perhaps in this case the triumph
of the intelligence of Lorenzo il Magnificoover the unskilled power of
his opponents. That the painting was made for Lorenzo is evident
from the frequent appearance of his device upon it. Vasari tells us
that Botticelli made for Lorenzo a picture of Athena, but the painting
to which he refers represented Athena as standing over burning
branches. The painting shows the same broad and decorative hand-
ling as the birth of Venus, and must have been painted about the
same time ; perhaps it belonged to a cycle of large canvas pictures for
one of the villas of Lorenzo. Both in color and drawing this picture
belongs to the best period of Botticelli. — H. Ulmann in Kumt. Chronik,
March 21, 1895.
There is a good half-tone reproduction of the picture in Hcuyer's
Weekly (New York) of April 13.
Prof. Enrico Ridolfi, director of the galleries of Florence, was the first
to make the painting known in an article on the discovery in the
Nazione {An. xxxvn, No. 61) of Florence, and this is summarized in
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272 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH&OLOQr. [Italt.)
the Chronique des Arts for March 16. Pallas is robed in a white
tunic under green drapery ; her blonde hair falls on her shoulders.
Ridolfi believes the subject to be the glorification of Lorenzo by the
subjection of the genius of discord or violence. It may have been
executed about 1480, when Lorenzo, returning from Naples, where he
had succeeded in detaching Ferdinand i of Aragon from the league
against Florence, was received with great festivities, which were
described by Angelo Poliziano. He identifies it with the picture
mentioned by Vasari.
Mr. Berenson has published an article in the Oazette des Beaux Arts
(June 1, 1895, p. 469) accompanied by the finest reproduction yet
given, a Dujardin photogravure. He denies that the painting is the
one mentioned by Vasari, because Vasari says the figure of Pallas
stands on fire-brands, and does not mention any second figure : be-
sides the measurements and proportions of the canvases appear to
have been very different.
Mr. Berenson, after speaking of the identity in style of the new
Pallas with the Fortezza, and dating both from 1480, proceeds to show
how by means of this fixed date it is possible to give approximate
dates to a number of other works of Botticelli, for reasons of style.
Evidently in 1480 there is hardly a trace left in his style of the in-
fluence of the Pollaiuoli. Hence he dates Botticelli's famous chef-
d'oeuvre, Spring, from the spring of 1478, as it still shows strong
Pollaiuoli characteristics. Finding greater harmony of line in the
Birth of Venus he dates it after the Pallas, and before the Sistine
frescoes which rather abuse the linear element. This would date the
Venus at latest from the spring of 1482, as the Sistine frescoes were
commenced in the same autumn. The Villa Lemmi frescoes are
later.
The Medici collection in the sixteenth century. — M. Miintz writes in the
Chronique a letter on the modern works of art which formed part of the
Medici collections of the sixteenth century. He announces that fif-
teen years ago he was able to study the inventory of the Guardia
Roba of the Medici, so rich in indications on the works of art pre-
served in Florence. The text of these is about to be published in the
Memoirs of the Academy of Inscriptions by M. Miintz, accompanied
by a commentary, which is particularly complete in relation to the
works of ancient art belonging to the first Grand Dukes. In general
Miintz has not undertaken to identify the more recent works of art,
leaving that to the Italian directors of the Florentine Museums, but
he contributes here some notes upon the subject.
The Medici collections received certain works through the munifi-
cence of Popes Leo x and Clement vn ; for example, the Laurentian
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Library and such works as the superb vases in rock crystal, some of
which bear the initials of Lorenzo the Magnificent, while others are
the work of Valerio Belli. To the same Pope is due the copy of the
Laocoon by Baccio Bandinelli.
The collection had been reduced to but very few pieces when Cosmo
took the reins of government. He first added a number of ancient
statuettes (such as the Chimera, the Minerva and the Etruscan orator) f
medals, vases and antiquities of all kinds, then modern works, such
as sculptures, paintings, miniatures, cameos, etc.
The inventories are interesting as showing how free the restora-
tions of ancient works were at that time, and how difficult it must be
to distinguish now between the ancient work and the modern ad-
ditions. Thus the inventory of 1571-1588 reports: "A statue of
Venus, nude, in marble, larger than life size, standing with a Cupid
at her feet, bought from Cardinal Colonna, without head,, without
arms, and with only one leg, restored by Master Sylla, who added to
it an ancient head and made its missing members March 12, 1584."
These inventories give also much information on the reproductions
of ancient works executed in the sixteenth century. The following
may be gathered from them in regard to recent works of art : Dona-
tello is represented by a composition of several figures in relief.
Michelangelo by a model in stucco of his "giant" (probably David),
by an unfinished David, by a metal reproduction of the Christ, of the
Minerva, by a torso copied from a river god. In 1590 a bronze bust
of Michelangelo entered the collection. Jacopo Sansovino is repre-
sented by his marble Bacchus and his bronze copy of the Laocoon.
There are numerous statuettes by Bandinelli, — the bronze Venus, the
bronze Hercules, the marble Bacchus, a bust of Cosmo. There is a
Gladiator (1583) by Ammanatti. Other sculptors are named as being
charged with the repairing of antique statuettes and for the execution
of works. Such are Piero da Bargha, who has the title of sculptor of
the Duke, Aliprando Capriolo of Trent (1584); Silla, who worked
under the orders of John of Bologna (1584). As for the latter sculptor,
his name often occurs. In 1578 he finishes his bronze crucifix, in 1580
his bronze Mercury, in 1584 three bronze statuettes, then a sleeping
woman, a kneeling woman and the standing Hercules. It is known
how numerous are the smaller Florentine bronzes at the close of the
sixteenth century, especially the statuettes which are ordinarily re-
garded as a work of John Bologna. The inventory of 1571-1588.
gives a long list of such works executed by Piero da Bargha.
Among the paintings, whose artists are mentioned, are a Virgin by
Pontormo, also the author of a Venus and Cupid, three pictures by
Andrea del Sarto, two Madonnas by Bronzino, by whom were also a
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274 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Italy.]
Saint Cosmo and a Saint John, as well as several sculptures. Among
those that can be identified are such famous works as the portrait of
Leo x with two Cardinals, by Raphael, and the portrait of Cardinal
de Medici by Titian, which are both now in the Pitti. — Chronique, No.
9, 1895.
Portrait of Michelangelo. — In a monograph recently published in
Florence, Sig. Caetano Guasti gives an account of a portrait of Michel-
angelo which hitherto has received little attention. This portrait,
which is in the possession of Count P. Galletti, seems to be the like-
ness of the master noted by Vasari as having been painted by
Giuliano Bugiardini for Ottaviano de' Medici. Guasti determines the
date of this portrait to be the year 1532. Michelangelo was then 57
years old, with which age the appearance of this portrait corresponds
very well. By means of this attribution the portrait of Michelangelo
in the Louvre assigned to Bugiardini must be set aside, since an in-
scription upon that picture describes the master as in his 47th year.
Two other portraits of Michelangelo, one in the possession of the
Baldi family and another in that of Chaix d'Estang, claimed to be by
Bugiardini, must also be set aside. Guasti judges from the modeling
of the head and strength of the coloring that Michelangelo gave to this
portrait the final touches himself. It is much to be desired that this
painting should be examined by a thorough expert, on account of its
importance for the history of art. — C. v. Fabriczy in ReperL fur
Kunstwissen., 1894.
LODI.— S. Maria lMncoronata. — Some new information concerning this
interesting monument was published by L. Beltrami in the Archivio
Slorwo Lombardo in 1893. The decree for building the church was made
on the 16th of October, 1487, and in the following year the contract
for the building given over to Giov. Jacomo Batacchio, who twenty
years earlier was a mere mason at the hospital at Lodi. According
to the wording of the contract the architect also undertook the terra-
cotta ornamentation and figured decoration; accordingly we must now
attribute to him not only the decoration on the capitals and pilasters
of the lower octagon, but also the relief busts which decorate the
arcades. — C. v. Fabriczy in Repert.f. Kunslwwen, 1894.
MILAN. — The first architect of the c*6tle. — In the Perseveranza of the
9th of September, 1893, Luca Beltrami publishes a document of the
date July 1st, 1450, showing that Giovanni must have been assisted
by Marchaleone da Nogarolo, who must have been the first architect,
as Giovanni died in December, 1451. His place was filled three years
later by Bart. Gadio, of Cremona. — Repert.f. Kunstwissen., 1894.
MILAN (near). — Discovery of Renaissance frescoes and reliefs. — In an
article in the Perseveranza of the 16th of February, 1894, the indefati-
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gable investigator, Diego Sant Ambrogio, notices the hitherto unob-
served frescoes well preserved upon the fa$ade of the church of Vigano
Certosino, near Gaggiano. They represent the annunciation, a glory
of angels about God the Father and some figures of saints of the
Carthusian order. In a medallion under the rose window is found
the characteristic likeness of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, on both sides of
which are shields with the inscription CAR(thusia) GRA(tiarum).
These paintings have been found to be by Bernardino de Rossi, who
is known to have made the frescoes in the atrium and in the entrance
portal of the Certosa at Pavia.
A second discovery is an altar painting by Aurelio Luini, in good
condition and surrounded by its original rich frame. It represents
the Madonna and Child with John the Baptist kneeling before her
and on either side S, Matthew and S. John the Evangelist, Sta Chiara
and S. Stephen.
Finally, S. Ambrogio has discovered the original of the altar of the
Certosa at Pavia, in a little church at Carpiano, near Melegnano. It
is an original and documented work of Giovanni da Campione, of
the year 1396, in the form of an altar table, the four sides of which
are decorated with eight reliefs in marble, representing scenes from
the life of the Virgin. Of the baldachino there remain the four spiral
ornamented columns. This altar appears to have been taken to
Carpiano in the year 1518. — Repert. f. Kwistwissen, 1894, p. 248.
PARENZO. — Note on the Cathedral. — In view of the notice on the
mosaics of the cathedral of Parenzo, published in a late issue (ix,
pp. 482-4), we add the following note, connected mainly with its
architecture and with traces of structures anterior to the present build-
ing, which belongs to the vi century.
At the June meeting (1894) of the Society of Christian Archeology in
Rome, the Secretary, Prof. Marucchi, presented some drawings and
photographs of the cathedral of Parenzo, recalling that he had previ-
ously spoken of it in connection with a publication of Dr. Amoroso.
The drawings presented showed the successive structures which had
been erected between the in and the iv cent. Some recent discoveries
made by Mgr. De Peris resulted mainly in ascertaining two notable
facts : first, the remains of the presbytery with the episcopal throne
in the centre of the main nave and in front of the altar ; and, sec-
ondly, the tomb of the martyr S. Maurus, made in the form of an
arcosolium enclosed within the structure itself of the apse. It still
remains difficult to assign certain dates to the various successive con-
structions, diid especially to the primitive oratory which finally was
supplanted by the magnificent cathedral. — Bull. Arch. Crist, S. v, an.
iv, No. 4.
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276 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.}
PAVIA. — Vandalism at the Cathedral.— We judge that in building a
fagade for the Cathedral of Pavia which was left without one by ite
Renaissance builders, considerable vandalism must have been indulged
in toward the remains of the ancient church of S. Maria del Popolo,
The ancient cathedral of Pavia was composed of two churches — S.
Stefano and S. Maria del Popolo — which were connected, one being
used in summer and the other in winter. The people of the Renais-
sance with their usual self-sufficient vandalism started to build a great
cathedral on the site of S. Maria del Popolo, but they only got as far
as the choir. The work was taken up again on several occasions since
the xv century and each time a further piece of the old church has
been demolished, until now, when the fagade is being finished, but
little remains of the old work.
Dr. Taramelli says, " I must express my sorrow at the destruction,
without a well-matured plan, of one of the finest and most ancient
basilicas of northern Italy." One of the most interesting characteris-
tics of the ancient church was that when, in the xn century it was
rebuilt and covered with cross- vaults, its columns were left and used
as the centre of the Romanesque grouped piers. See Not d. Scavi,
1894, pp. 87-9 : also Dartein, Archit. Lombarde and Taramelli's mono-
graph.
An even stronger protest is made by Beltrami in the last issue of
the Archivio Storico Lombardo (1894, in, p. 249). He tells how, in
demolishing the front part of the present building to make way for
the new facade, much more of the ancient structures came to light
than was supposed : that twice the local Direction was obliged to order
the suspension of the work in order to secure any exact record of the
ancient constructions that were being demolished : that the action of
the local direction was paralyzed by the complete lack of interest of
the clergy in the memories of the past history of their church. It
would have been perfectly possible to have preserved in the new con-
struction some of the columns of the primitive wooden-roofed basilica
which were enclosed in the Romanesque piers.
ROME. — A fraudulent collection of early Christian sacred objects. —
Father Grisar has rendered a great service to Christian archaeology by
proving conclusively the falsity of a collection of so-called early
Christian sacred objects supposed to have belonged to a Bishop, and
which for over ten years has excited great interest and attention,,
especially since the greater part of the objects came into the hands of
Cav. Giancarlo Rossi, of Rome, who has published drawings of all the
objects, accompanied by a text of nearly five hundred pages. This
collection, if genuine, would be the most wonderful discovery ever
made of this kind ; there is no treasury of early Christian works that
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[Italy.] ARCHJE0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 277
can even approximate it in value, variety and extent. Although the
many authorities on early Christian art who have examined it and
written about it have expressed wonder at the unusual nature of the
symbolism and style, and have varied greatly in the date assigned the
objects, few of them have even questioned the authenticity of the col-
lection. Father Grisar examines it from every point of view. He
shows, in the first place, that the circumstances and place of the dis-
covery are still shrouded in a mystery which is not only suspicious,
but which can not be satisfactorily explained. He proves that the
symbolism is that of the early Christian period, with many new fea-
tures due to a vivid modern fancy, while the style is an imitation of
works of the eighth and ninth centuries, of barbaric Lombard char-
acter. The forger, beginning with objects rather modest in appear-
ance, on finding their sale so easy and profitable, indulged in the
manufacture of works of greatest magnificence, such as would have
seemed strange indeed to any prelate of the early church. This is
especially the case with an episcopal gold crown and an episcopal
mitre, such as never appeared in art until after the eleventh century.
The forger carefully avoids the use of anything that would injure the
attribution of these objects to the earliest Christian period, or would
betray a modern hand. Not a single inscribed letter is to be found on
any of the objects, nor is there a single nimbus or monogram — features
which would be almost inevitable in any works in the style of these
forgeries. Finally, a material proof of the forgery is given by the ex-
amination of some of the objects by experts, who were unanimously
of the opinion that the flexibility of the silver was such as to make it
impossible that these objects should be ancient, for silver loses its
flexibility with age. They also proved that the oxidation was arti-
ficial, and produced by sulphuric acid. Here endeth, therefore, the
famous treasury.
The house and burial place of St. Bridget. — In restoring in 1893-94 the
Church of St Bridget in the Piazza Farnese, in Rome, there was
found on the architrave of the door an inscription in late Gothic let-
ters reading Domus Sancte Birgitte Vastenensis de Regno Sweci
Instaurata ad Anno Domini 1513. It was known already that the
church was erected in honor of St. Bridget, who died in Rome in 1373.
It was not known, however, that she died at S. Lorenzo in Panisperna,
where her body was buried in a marble sarcophagus of the fourth cen-
tury, and where part of her relics remained until 1892. These facts
are brought out by Baron von Bildt in the Manadsblad of the Acad-
emy of Stockholm in 1893.— Grisar in Oivitia Cattolica, 1895, No. II.
Benvenuto Cellini,. — One of the defects attributed by historians to
Cellini is his lack of veracity, especially in his having laid claim to
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278 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Italy.)
the murder of the Bourbon. While certain proof of this deed is still
lacking, other documents uphold his veracity, and five such docu-
ments preserved in the secret archives of the Vatican are now pub-
lished in the Archivio storico delV Arte. Cellini had written that
Clement vn had made him master of the dies of the mint, which fact
is recorded in document i. Another document in the same archives
even substantiates his statement that he was paid six scudi a month.
Farther on in his autobiography Cellini wrote that he received the
office of Servant of Arms at a salary of two hundred scudi. Docu-
ment in proves that this statement was also true. Finally Cellini
wrote that at the instance of Latino Giovenale he received from Pope
Paul in a passport of safety after the murder of Pompeo de Capi-
taneis. Document iv shows that this passport was given in October,
1534. That Cellini was permitted to pursue his art in safety is shown
by document v, which contains an order for payment to Cellini on
account of work done toward the close of 1534. These documents,
therefore, render tribute to the veracity of Cellini. — Francesco
Cerasoli in Archiv. star. deW Arte, 1894, pp. 372-374.
ROME (near). — A Byzantine monument at Grottaferrata. — At a meeting
of the Society of Christian Archaeology in Rome, the drawing was
shown of a monument in the Abbey of Grottaferrata, which represents
the mass according to the Greek rite of the place, the abbot being dis-
tinguished by the encolpion. The priest has before him two vases
and a bread and a half on the altar, figuring perhaps the communion
under the two elements. By his side an assistant holds an imple-
ment for cutting the bread. The most remarkable thing about this
work is the combination of the ideal with the realistic representation,
for below the eucharistic fish is carved. This piece of sculpture, until
now unknown, appears to belong to the x or xi centuries. — BvXL
Arch. Crist. S. V, an. iv, No. 4.
SYRACUSE. — Christian catacomb. — The catacombs of S. Giovanni^ the
exploration of which was begun last year, have yielded in this cam-
paign about a hundred new inscriptions, of which one bears the name
of a bishop of Syracuse not hitherto known. — Athenaeum, Sept. 8, 1894.
VENICE. — Museum reorganization. — The recent celebration at Venice of
the silver wedding of the King and Queen of Italy and the centenary
solemnities of St. Mark has been made by the government the
occasion of a reorganization of the Academy of Fine Arts and of the
Archaeological Museum. The work has been effected by competent
men under an order from the Minister of Education, who recognized
the necessity of a complete rearrangement of both collections. Old
documents disclose the fact that Titian's well-known " Presentation of
the Virgin in the Temple" was originally painted for the large hall of
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[Sicilt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 279
the suppressed Scuola di S. Maria della Cariti, now occupied by the
Academy of Fine Arts. Hence sprang the idea of replacing this
picture, which every one knows to be one of the chief attractions of
the Academy, in its original position, so that the full effect intended
by Titian should be obtained. This has been done. From similar
motives, one of the side rooms has been remodelled so as to reproduce
exactly the octagonal chapel of Saint Ursula, where formerly were
Carpaccio's scenes from the legends of this saint. Paintings by
Bellini, Sebastiani and others, removed hither from the Scuola di S.
Giovanni Evangelista, have likewise been placed in positions corres-
ponding as nearly as possible to the original. The contents of the
Archaeological Museum had been in even worse disorder than the Art
Gallery, so that a large part of the collection had been wholly with-
drawn from exhibition. To Dr. Lucio Mariani, of Rome, was given
the task of bringing a scientific classification out of this chaos. The
new arrangement has led to the opening of five additional rooms in
the Ducal Palace, which have hitherto been closed to the public. The
decorations of the walls and ceilings, as well as the fine chimney-
pieces, add to the interest of these rooms. Both the entrance and the
exit to the Ducal Palace are now, in consequence of these changes, by
the Scala d'Oro, which increases the impressiveness of a passage
through these rooms. A branch of the Scala d'Oro, ornamented by
remarkable stuccoes, is also now opened to the public for the first time.
The action of the government in making its contribution to the Vene-
tian festivities one of permanent interest will be appreciated by future
visitors.— N. Y. Natim, May 30, 1895.
SICILY.
MARSALA-LILYByEUM — Inscription of Sextus Pompeius. — At Marsala,
amongst the slabs of an ancient pavement, an inscription has come to
light which is of considerable historical interest, as it records the cele-
brated triumvir Sextus Pompeius and his legate L. Plinius Rufus. It
is to be remarked that this is the first time that we learn the legate's
correct name, which had hitherto been handed down by authors in a
mistaken form, as also his full titles. The inscription refers to the
works of the port and towers of Lilyboeum. Prof. Salinas is now
occupied in excavating the Carthaginian walls of the city. — Halb-
herr, in Athen&um, March 23.
The inscription has been purchased for the Museum of Palermo.
It reads :
MAG • POMPEIO MAG F'PIO IMP'AVGVRE
COS • DESIG PORftzM • ET TVRRES
I/PLINIVS-I/F RVFVS'LEG'PRO-PR-PR-DES-F-C-
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280 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGT. [Sicily.]
It is the only record yet found of Sextus Pompeius' absolute rule on
the island during seven years, from 43 to 36 b. c, and as it gives him
the title of Augur, it must be after 39 b. c. — Not. d. Scavi, 1894, pp.
388-391.
NETUM. — The identification of the Siculo-Greek town of Netum
with Noto Vecchio, destroyed by the earthquake of 1693, has been
heretofore founded solely upon a rock-cut inscription of this locality.
I have recently discovered in the neighborhood of this rock two other
pure Greek monuments, Heroa in the form of large rock-cut rooms.
The walls contain sanctuary niches, some of which preserve still the
remains of sculptures and inscriptions, unfortunately in bad condition.
These Heroa of Netum recall two others almost unknown, in the
adjoining town of Akrai, provided with numerous niches and with
inscriptions of the same character. — Orsi, in Bull. Corr. Hett., Aug.-
Oct., 1894.
SELINOUS. — An article in the Cologne QazeMe gives an account of the
excavations during the last few years at Selinous. Little by little the
Acropolis is being uncovered. Its general plan is already evident.
There are two main streets crossing one another at right angles ; the
sites of five temples have been identified, one dedicated to Apollo,
another to Aphrodite ; the circuit of the wall, with its two large gates
and its four towers to them, two circular and two square, have been
determined. These latter constructions, in Pelasgic style, doubtless
belong to the very earliest period of the Italic races. The Greeks,
coining later, erected the temples. Here and there a large number of
terracotta objects have been found. In a single chamber near the
Propylsea 1200, and near by, in the foundation of the temple, 11,089
were found. Their workmanship is in general crude. Figurines have
also been found by thousands, of extremely variable artistic value,
some of them very beautiful and others very poor. In certain cases
there remain traces of color. Among others is an admirable female
head, with the face painted white and the hair red. — Chronique, 1895,
Nos. 1 and 6.
Professor Halbherr reports : " At Selinunte, where excavations have
been conducted for some time with considerable success, during the
past year a large building has been disinterred, of peculiar form, situ-
ated beyond the Selinus and above the propylsea. Although without
peristyle, it possesses all the other characteristics of a temple, and the
votive objects found at the same time confirm this judgment. These
latter consist of an enormous heap of terracottas, bronzes, and frag-
ments of glass. Of lamps alone more than ten thousand have been
collected. Amongst the archaic figurini many are remarkable for the
valuable traces of painting they preserve. The report now presented
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{Sicily.] ARCHJEOLOOICAL NEWS. 281
by Prof. Salinas, of Palermo, embraces all the work done at Selinunte
from the outset, of which hitherto only the discovery of the famous
metopes in 1892 had been made public. A large portion of the splen-
did northern wall of the acropolis and of the fortifications constructed
in 409 b. c, by Hermocrates of Syracuse, as also some important
remains of an earlier period, are now laid bare. The thicket which
covered the western wall has been cleared away, and the whole extent
of the diggings on the acropolis having been thus brought to view, an
accurate plan has been made of the whole by Signor Rao. Amongst
late discoveries must be mentioned a head in Greek marble, somewhat
injured, attributed to the fifth century b. c, and resembling in some
particulars the head of Zeus on a well-known Selinuntine metope ; an
archaic inscription bearing a dedication to Demeter, with the epithet
Malophoros ; a number of terracotta figurini of archaic epoch and
orientalizing style ; and several fragments of terracotta reliefs, some of
which belong to the rim of a kind of perirrhanterion, 68 centimetres in
diameter, having a representation of the Nereids carrying the arms of
Achilles. The latest discovery of all is that of a hoard of several
hundred Campanian coins perfectly preserved, having on one side the
head of Janus bifrons, and on the other Jupiter in the quadriga. —
Halbherr in Athen&um, March 20.
SYRACUSE. — The continuation of the excavations in the large Greek
necropolis, called Del Fusco, have this time proved even more fruitful
in results. About 450 tombs have been excavated, which are for the
most part amongst the most ancient in Syracuse. There are mono-
lithic sarcophagi, graves rigorously oriented, cinerary urns and am-
phorae for the rite of incineration. The prevailing use is that of burial,
but incineration exists at the same time. Certain vases were used to
preserve the bones : they are in shape a prototype of the amphorae
with colonettes and decorated with paintings of the primitive geomet-
rical style, with some elements which recall the Dipylon. Other urns
contain the bodies of infants not burned, besides sculptures. In the
sarcophagi and outside there have been gathered a number of terra-
cotta vases representing different phases of Corinthian pottery of
proto-Corinthian style. Geometric zoomorphic and Corinthian black-
figured vases occur exceptionally. In silver, there were found, ear-
rings, rings, mounted scarabs, lentoid pearls ; in bronze, fibulae " a
navicella," " a bastoncini," and " a cavalluccio " — types not yet observed
in Archaic Greek burials. Another novelty consistsiof fibulae of iron,
the bow of which is covered with ivory or amber. Several scarabs of
glass paste were found. The tombs which have been explored belong
to the end of the eighth century and first half of the seventh, and
occupy a comparatively narrow space. Some have been destroyed,
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282 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [France. J
others merely carried away by barbarians, who, several centuries after
Christ, opened narrow trenches near or in the midst of the Greek
burials. Every indication of the origin of these robberies is lacking. —
Orsi in Bull. Corr. Hell., Aug.-Oct, 1894.
THAP8O8. — The modern Magnassi possesses a large Sicilian necrop-
olis with beautiful tombs cut in the rock in the form of little tholoi*
It has been to a great measure ransacked at a remote period by search-
ers for metal. Nevertheless, I have made finds very important for
history and archaeology. The necropolis, which belongs to the second
Siculan period, contemporary with the Mycenaean civilization, shows
the first attempts at architectural decoration of the facades of the
tombs. Vases of local make are in forms of every variety. One nov-
elty seems to have been the attempt to reproduce the forms of animals
in the Siculan vases. One finds Siculan amphorae for the most part
of small dimensions. Of Mycenaean character are also some swords
and daggers of bronze. Various objects in glass paste may be consid-
ered to be Phoenician imported objects, like the Mycenaean ware.
Although Thapsos has been considered by modern historians as a
Phoenician settlement in Sicily, no traces of Phoenician tombs have
been found there. — Orsi in Bull. Corr. HeU.} August-October, 1894.
FRANCE.
SCULPTURE IN EUROPE BEFORE GRyCCO-ROMAN INFLUENCE.— Under
the above study M. Salomon Reinach commenced in L Anthropo-
logic for 1894 a series of articles which, when completed, will be a
systematic review of the development of sculpture in a field hitherto
omitted from the histories. We will give an extended review of this
study when it is completed. Thus far three papers have appeared.
M. Reinach thus announces his scheme: "The general histories of
ancient plastic art mention^ more or less briefly the sculptures and
engravings of the reindeer period ; then passes I to the eastern basin of
the Mediterranean to establish there for tens of centuries its observa-
tory, returning to the west only with the Etruscans and the Roman
legions, to note there works of decadence derived from those made
familiar to it in the Oriental world, at Athens, Ephesos, Pergamon
and Alexandria.
" I have here attempted to investigate a domain that history has
omitted, to compare and classify the first attempts of native European
plastic art. . . . The materials I have gathered and used for this
purpose are primitive sculptures in stone, terracotta and metal. The
latter are especially numerous. Dispersed in museums under more
or less vague names, such as Celtic, Etruscan, Gallo-Roman or Barba-
rian, they are far from having all been published or even described."
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[France.] ARCHJSOLOGICAL NEWS. 283
But one serious effort has been made to call attention to them : this
was by M. R Forrer in a series of articles entitled Primitive Mensck-
iicheStatuetten aus Bronze, published in the review Antiqua (1887-1890).
M. Reinach studies only figured sculpture, because the study of deco-
rative work of this style is far more advanced. Neither does he go
so far back as the " quaternary," or cave period. In regard to the
method followed in his study, M. Reinach shows how impossible any
-chronological and how inconvenient any geographical arrangement
would be; he therefore proceeds by the study of types and their
various ramifications, taking, as far as possible, his point of departure
among the monuments discovered in the western part of Europe, and
using such places as Troy, Kypros, Mykenai, Olympia, merely for
comparison, and abstaining altogether from illustrating types found
entirely in Eastern Europe. He lays especially stress upon the monu-
ments of pre-Roman Gaul, even when they cannot be classified under
any international series of types.
ORIGIN OF GALLO-ROMAN art. — M. Salomon Reinach believes that
the origin of Gallo-Roman art should be sought in Egypt of the
Ptolemaic period, and, more specifically, at Alexandria, which was in
commercial relationship with Marseilles, Narbonne and Nimes. It
I can hardly be doubted that from this source came the finest pieces of
; goldsmithswork of thejyeasures of Bjerpay and Hildesheim. The
1 J monuments of Orange, of Saint-Remy and Igel, were constructed and
/ decorated by a school of Alexandrian artists. — Communication to the
' Acad, des Truer, in Revue Arch., 1894, I, 110.
CHARTRES. — Excavations under the Cathedral. — The excavations
undertaken mainly for practical purposes under the pavement and
among the foundations of the Cathedral of Chartres are the most
extensive ever made, and gave results of considerable interest for the
history of the site. A popular account of them is given in the
Semaine Religieuse de Chartres, and is reproduced in the Revue de VArt
Chrhien, 1894.
HARFLEUR. — Discovery of a Gallo-Roman Temple. — M. Albert Naef has
conducted excavations above Harfleur, at a site on which there stood
a small Gallo-Roman temple. There came to light a quadrangular
aedicula surrounded by a colonnade, and also a number of sculp-
tured objects. — Revue Archiohgique, 1894, 1, 113.
This note in the Revue is supplemented by M. Naef 's own report in
the Ami des Monuments, 1894, p. 147. The excavations were begun
June 27, 1893, and finished in August. They covered an area of 400
-square metres. The small temple is on the top of a hill, and consists
of two square enclosures, almost exactly oriented to the cardinal
points, the small square cella in the centre, and the peripteral colon-
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284 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH2E0L0GF. [France.}
nade 13 metres per side, of which, however, only one side has been,
ascertained surely to exist. Although extremely ruined, enough
remains to show that both the exterior and interior of the cella had a
polychromatic decoration — both walls and ceiling. The most curious
and rare object found is a small tripod, the like of which had not been,
found in the province. It is ingeniously constructed so as to be let
up or down according to the diameter of the vase it was to support.
A coin of Valentinian found on the very remains of the demolished
walls, gives perhaps the approximate date of the destruction of the
cella, c. 36&-75 a. d.
OISSEAU. — Discovery of a Gallo-Roman City.— Some important excava-
tions have been undertaken at Oisseau (Sarthe) by M. F. Liger. The
town is 9 kilom. south of Alengon. The discoverer recognized in the
numerous ruins scattered over the territory of Oisseau, the vestiges of
a Gallic city destroyed at the close of the third or the beginning of the*
fourth century. The buildings still remaining, such as temples, circus,,
aqueduct and constructions of all sorts, are scattered over a surface of
over a hundred hectares, including the remains of a Gallic oppidum.
Was this the ancient Vatigorum of Ptolemy, or Nudiodum ? Certain
it is that here we have a Gallic settlement to which the Romans added
a city. Among the buildings brought to light several are of consid-
erable size. One, whose use is still unknown, is fully 75 met long.
The theatre, with all of its substructures still intact, has a diameter
of 55 metres. — Ami des Monuments, 1894, p. 23.
LOUVRE. — Early Christian Vase. — A large silver vase, adorned with.
Christian subjects in relief and coming from Homs, the ancient Emesa,
in Syria, was offered to the Louvre in 1892. There was a wide differ-
ence of opinion^in regard to its date, the v, the vi and the x centuries
being among those proposed. A cast was sent to Comm. G. B, de
Rossi, in Rome, who, after speaking of the importance and rarity
of the work, said : " It is impossible to doubt that this is a work
anterior to the Byzantine period. The technique of the repousd work,
the classic style and the Christian iconography, all agree in placing it
in the fifth rather than the sixth century. The very lack of the nimbus
around the Saviour's head, a comparison of this vase with the capmlae,
silver boxes and burettes of the fifth century, the gold bracelets of
Aquileia, are so many indications of this date. . . . The four
apostles by the side of Christ are easy to identify by their iconographic
characteristics : Peter and Paul, John (beardless), James, the cousin
of our Lord, whom he is made to resemble, a Nazarine with long hair^
The Virgin is surrounded by angels. — BuU. Soc. des Antiq., 1893, p. 84.
Italo-Byzantine Ivory. — An ivory at least as early as the sixth century
has been purchased. It appears to have formed part of the decoration.
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[France.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 285
of a throne like that of Bishop Maximianus, at Ravenna, This relief
represents a crowd of people listening to the preaching of an apostle
whose type is the usual one given in early monuments to St. PauL
In the background is a city built in Roman style : at the windows
and balconies of all the buildings stand numerous figures. M. Saglio,
who presented a notice of this work to the Soc. des Antiquaires, believes
it to have been executed, not at Byzantium, as might be thought from
the costumes, but in Italy. — Bull. Soc. des Antiquaires, 1893, 127.
Bibliotheque Nationale. — The Biblioth&que Nationale has recently
acquired a collection of primitive Greek coins in electrum, which were
found together in the island of Samos. According to M. Ernest Babe-
Ion, their date cannot be later than the middle of the seventh century
b. c, and they are thus among the very earliest examples of coined
money. They bear various devices — the head of a lion, a flying eagle,
an eagle devouring a hare, a rose, a ram lying down, etc. They are
all struck, with mathematic precision, from staters to obols, according
to the Euboic standard of 17.52 grammes to the stater. M. Babelon
therefore infers that the so-called Euboic standard must have origi-
nated in Samos, whence it was imported to Euboia, and afterwards
spread throughout the Greek world. — Academy, June 30.
PONT-AUDEMER. — Vandalism. — The Church of N6tre-Dame-du Pr6, at
Pont-Audemer, was a charming monument of the xn century, in fair
preservation. It was sold in 1892, an.d the new owner has removed
the roof, scratched the walls, columns and capitals, and removed some
of the capitals and the greater part of the remarkable carved corbels. —
Bibl. Ecole des Charles, 1893, pp. 790-1.
8PAIN AND PORTUGAL.
FRENCH ORIGIN OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
— At the late congress of the Sarbonne, M. Enlart read a paper on the
French origin of Gothic architecture in Spain and Portugal. Its
principal agents were the monks of Cluny and Citeaux and the numer-
ous bishops of French origin. Cluny gained possession in the xn
century, of all the Spanish churches and Citeaux of the Portuguese.
The school of Cluny is eclectic, borrowing from Auvergne (Cath. Com-
postella), Aquitaine (S. Isidore, Leon) and Burgundy (Camprodon,
Cath. of Siguenza and Lugo, nave of S. Vincent, Avila). The Cister-
cians follow the style of Aquitaine even more than that of Burgundy,
combining both in such churches as Veruela (1146), Poblet (1153),
Santas Creus (1157) and Val de Dios (cons. 1258) : the latter not
having even the Cistercian plan. At Alcobaza, in Portugal, they imi-
tate both the plan of Clairvaux and the Gothic architecture of Poitou
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286 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCH2E0L0QY. [Spain.]
and Anjou. Under their influence the cloister of the Cath. of Tarra-
gona is built in imitation of that of Fontfroide and Valmagua The
priests and bishops from the 8. W. of France, fwho)built the cathedrals 7 I
of Zamora (cons. 1174) and Salamanca (da), and the Coll. Ch. of
Toro (do. and xni cent), which have the domical cross-vaults and
the conical towers like those of the churches of Perigueux, Saintes and
Poitiers.
All these monuments are followed by others of greater importance
and more perfect Gothic style ; such as the cathedrals of Burgos (cons.
1230), Toledo (beg. 1229) and Leon (fin. c. 1300). The first two closely
imitate Bourges, and the third belongs to the same perfected and pure
style as the cath. of Beauvais, the chapel of S. Germain-en-Laye and
S. Urbain of Troyes. Its west porch is an exact copy of the side
porches of the cathedral of Chartres, and its statuary resembles that
of Rheims.
In Catalonia the Gothic style continues to follow, in the xrv cent,
that of Languedoc, witness the cathedrals of Girona and Manresa, and
the church of Lamourguie. — VAmi des Monuments, 1894, p. 145.
8PAIN.
VICH. — A New Museum. — In 1889 a museum was founded at Vich by
its bishop, Mgr. Don Jos& Morgades y Gili, and in 1891 it was inaugu-
rated. The first volume of its catalogue, together with a series of
photographs of the principal pieces in the museum, was presented on
June 3, at a meeting of the Society of Christian Archaeology in Rome.
Among the objects should be mentioned especially : the paintings on
wood of the Romanesque school of the x, xi and xh centuries, and
those of the Gothic school between the xni and xvi centuries ; the
early crucifixes in wood and bronze called Majestats in Catalonia ;
various sculptures representing the Virgin, executed between the x
and xvi centuries ; the collection of oriental stuffs, especially the two
famous pieces known under the names of pali de les Brinxes (or
chimerl), and Sudari de Sard Bemart (who was Bishop of Vich in the
xni century). The Rev. 8. Pedro Bofill y Boix, who presented both
catalogue and photographs, spoke also of the restorations carried on
by the bishop of Vich in the basilica 8. Maria de Ripoli, and called
attention to the great importance of the monument, which is called
Triumphal Arch of Christianity in Catalonia. — Mabucchi, in Bull di
Arch. Christ, S. v, an. iv, No. 4.
A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
Allan Marquand.
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american
Journal of Arceleology.
Vol. X. JULY-SEPTEMBER. 1895. No. 3.
PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ATHENS.
THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA WITH
REFERENCE TO THE STAGE QUESTION.
The chorus in the Greek Drama, its position and external
functions, has formed the basis of the investigations1 in the last
decade that have contributed in no small degree to the overthrow
of the traditional belief in a high stage for actors during the
classical period. Those who at first opposed the entire theory of
Dr. Dorpfeld now concede, alniost without exception, that the
theatre of the fifth century placed no restraint upon the free and
constant intermingling of actors and chorus.2 But the question
^Opken, de theatro attico, Diss. Bonn, 1884; Wilamowitz, in Hermes, 21,
<J07ff; White, in Harvard Studies, 1891, 159 ff.; Capps, in Trans. Am. Phil.
Ass., 1891, 1 if.; Bodensteiner, in Jahrb.f. class. Phil., 19ten Suppl., 1898, 689 ff.;
Pickard, in Am. Jour. Phil., 1893, 68 ff.; Weissmann, Die scenische Auffuhrung
dergriech. Dramen, Munchen, 1898 ; Wecklein, Sitzungsber. d. bayr. Akad., 1898,
1429 ff.
2 The suggestion of a low stage for the fifth century first came from Haiqh, Attic
Theatre (1889), 158, and has since found favor with many, either in its original or
in a modified form. See Gardner, in Jour. Hell. Stud., Suppl. I., (1$92) ; Weil,
in Jour, des Sav., 1898, 603; Christ, in Sitzungsber. d. bayr. Akad., 1894, 1 ff.;
Oehmichen, in Woch. f. klass. Phil., 1894, 761 ; A. Muller, in Berl. phil. Woch.,
1894, 1456 ; Navarre, Dionysos, p. 95. For the view of Christ, who at first favored
the new theory, see Class. Rev., 1895, 138. Other compromises have been offered
by Dyek, in Jour. Hell. Stud., 1891, 356 ff., Earle, Report of Arch. Inst, of Am.,
1892-8, 611, and in the Introduction to his edition of the Alcestis, and Paulsen,
Orekiska teatern, Goteborg, 1894.
287
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288 EDWARD CAPPS.
has by no means reached its solution. Vitruvius remains, and,
until fresh evidence has been gathered from literary sources which
shall conclusively refute or explain him, he will probably continue
to remain, the stronghold of many who have not felt the over-
whelming force of the evidence of the ruins.
The theories formulated by Mr. Gardner and Prof. Christ rest
upon the assumption that at about the beginning of the third
century, without any assignable reasons, the low stage was re-
placed by the high Vitruvian stage. This is the time of the first
appearance of stone proscenia. From this time on there can be
no compromise ; the actors stood either upon the proscenium or
in the orchestra in front of it, where, according to Dr. Dorpfeldy
they always stood.3 If, from 300 b. c. on, the actors stood upon
the proscenium, then the chorus must either have entirely disap-
peared from the drama or have essentially changed its character
before the reconstruction of the theatre was possible, i. e.y during
the fourth century.
Our knowledge of the later Greek drama is extremely meagre.
The current histories of Greek literature are full of all manner
of vague statements as regards the history and character of the
chorus after the fifth century. The prevailing view seems to be
that both tragedy and comedy underwent a sudden change shortly
after the Peloponnesian war, and that a throng of worthless or
distinctly inferior poets succeeded the old masters ; as for the
chorus, that in tragedy it rapidly waned during the fourth cen-
tury, soon became a mere appendage and at last disappeared,
while in comedy it did not long outlive the Peloponnesian war.
It is not surprising, therefore, that, in the discussion of the stage
question, it has become the custom of the conservative party to
ignore the chorus altogether after the fourth century. But not
even the meagreness of our positive knowledge warrants the
assertion of Haigh (A. T. 261), that "in the course of the fourth
century the tragic chorus came to occupy the position of a band
in modern times," and of Gardner (JExcav. at Megal., p. 157), that
"it is only in the plays of the fifth century that there was
8 Mr. Gardner's theory, on the other hand, involves the following changes : r
cent., a low stage ; iv cent, a stage of ca. 4 ft. ; in cent., a stage of 10 ft., gradually
increasing to 12 ft.; i cent., a stage of 6 ft. (Roman). He considers, however, that
the Roman theatre (the drama also?) was an independent growth.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 289
any close connection and intercourse between actors and chorus,
orchestra and stage. In the fourth century the chorus disap-
peared almost entirely from comedy, and in tragedy its functions
came to be confined to the duty of merely singing interludes,"4
and similar statements in Christ's last article.5 Miiller's paragraph
on the subject (B-A. 341 ff.) and the introductory chapter of Rib-
beck's Geschichte der romischen. Tragbdie should have prevented
such sweeping assertions. But neither Miiller nor Ribbeck, nor,
so far as I know, any other scholar, has submitted the subject
of the character and functions of the later Greek chorus to a
thorough investigation.6 It is my purpose in this paper to bring
together the evidence as to the later history of the chorus, and to
determine, as far as possible, how it differed in character from
that of the fifth century.
THE CHORUS IN THE LATER TRAGEDY.
Side by side with the formal exhibitions of tragedy at the great
religious festivals, existed another kind of histrionic performance
that was dignified by the name of tragedy — the exhibitions of
wandering troups at the country fairs and in the market-places
of the cities. They were of an informal, doubtless extempo-
raneous character, and probably dispensed with choruses as well
as with extensive scenic apparatus {cf. Plat. Legg. 7, 817 c).
Leaving these out of account, there is no evidence that Greek
tragedy ever gave up its chorus ; on the other hand the literature
and inscriptions contain many references to the tragic chorus at
Athens and elsewhere down to a very late period. It will suffice
to mention Lys. 19, 29 and 21, 1 ; Isaeus, de Die. her. 36, de Phil,
her. 60 ; Dem. Mid. 58 and 156 ; Arist. Pol. 3, 3, 1276 b, 4, Prob.
19, 48, 'A0. IIoX. 56, 3; Demochares apvd. Vit. Aeschinis n;
Plut. Script. Mar. 68 a, 599 b; Max. Tyr. Diss. 7,1; CIA u,
4 This seems to rest on Haigh's authority alone. See Ait. Theat, 157. Oeh-
michen (B-W., 197), evidently takes the same position.
•See pp. 26 f., 31, and passim.
• Wblcker, Die griechische Tragodien, pp. 899, 1276, 1319 ff., discusses the exist-
ence of the tragic chorus. The history, but not the character, of the chorus in tragedy
and in comedy after the fifth century is discussed with admirable judgment by
Magnin in his Les Origines du Thhairt Attique^ Paris, 1868, p. 129 ff. But his
views now require revision in some important particulars.
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290 EDWARD CAPPS.
1277, 1 289, in, 686. For Delos, Arist. 'A0. IIoX. 56, 3; BuU. Corr.
Hell. 7, 122 ff; Iasos, La Bas, As. M!n.9 no. 281 ; Thespiae, CIG
1585 ; Rhamnus, 9E<f>. 'Ap*. 1891, 49 (ca. 300 b. c.) ; Samos, CIG
3091 (170-60 b. c); Teos, CIG 3089; Rhodes, Loewy, Arch.
Epig. Mitth. 7, 111 (after fourth century).7 In addition to these
inscriptions, which mention the tragic choregia, are many other
references to the tragic igon, in which the tragic chorus undoubt-
edly took its part along with the cyclic choruses. See Welcker,
Die griechische Tragodien, p. 1295.
As to the character of the later tragic chorus, the opinion pre-
vails that it had lost its former intimate connection with the
action, and that its only function was to entertain the audience be-
tween the episodes. This opinion is based wholly on the much-
discussed passage in Aristotle's Poetics (18, 1456 a, 26): zeal rhv
X°pbv Bk fw* Bel irrroXafielv rS>v wroicpiT&v ical yuipiov elvat rov o\ov
/cat avvaycov^eaOai fifj <5<nrep T&vpnrlBr) aW doairep 1,o<f>o/c\el • -rofc Be
Xoiwofc rh aBdfieva oiBev fiaXXov rov fivOov rj a\\r)$ rpaytpBias iarlv .
Bio ifijSokifia aBovaiv irpdnov ap%avro<i 'AydOcovo? rov roiovrov • tcairoi
rl Buufre'pei rj ififioXifia aBeiv rj el pr\<nv e£ aWov ek aWo dpfjuirroi
r) iireiaoBiov oKov ; These words are not ambiguous or obscure. It
is surprising that they should have been so consistently misunder-
stood or partially understood. In the first sentence Aristotle
states briefly the whole function of the chorus,8 adding by way of
illustration pi} (Sairep EvpnriBy a\\' wairep lofo/cXei. This refers
to the manner in which these poets gave their choruses a connec-
tion with the plot, not to the fact; for the chorus in Euripides
takes a larger part in the action and, in this respect, does the
work of an actor, to a greater extent than in Sophocles. And yet
there is an essential and unmistakable difference in the concep-
tions of these two poets of the true function of the chorus. This
difference is exhibited, not so much in the external conduct of the
7 A full collection of inscriptions published before 1888 is given by Brinck, Inscrip-
Hones graecae ad choregiam pertinentes, Halle, 1888. Some of the above are
given on the strength of Brinck 's restorations.
• So far as this was possible in a single sentence, seeing how varied and complex
are the functions of the chorus in the best plays of the best poets. Prob. 18, 48 :
Jftfri yip 6 x°P*>s *i?8«tfT^$ dwpaKTos ' etixouiir 7dp fibvov rap^xerai ofs T&pcoTiv, if genuine,
probably reflects the opinion of Aristotle when he was still more under the influence
of Sophocles than when he wrote the Poetics. Arnoldt, Chorische Teehntk des
Euripides^ p. 60.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 291
chorus, but in the very motive of its presence in the play. The
choruses of Sophocles, as a rule, have a deeper sympathy with
the actors, a more intimate connection with the plot, than those
of Euripides, although those of the latter move about more freely
and come into closer personal contact with the actors than those
of the former.9 This is a distinction that has been generally
overlooked by interpreters of Aristotle. Or are we to suppose
that a critic like Aristotle approved more heartily of the active
chorus of the Helen than of the inactive chorus of the Oedipus
Rex ? It is true that he commended the chorus that took its
part in the action, as is sufficiently indicated by awayavi&aOai.
Much depended on the plot chosen by the poet. The chorus in
the Bacchae necessarily bore a very different character from that
of the Oedipus, though one could hardly say that it was better
motived. But undoubtedly Aristotle intended that the main
stress should be laid upon what we may term the inner character
of the chorus, as is shown not only by the comparison of Sopho-
cles and Euripides, but also by what immediately follows in the
text.
" The melic parts/' he proceeds, u of the successors of Euripi-
des and Sophocles belong no more to the myth than to another
tragedy altogether, in fact are mere interludes. Agathon was the
first to do this sort of thing. But this is no more justifiable than
to transfer whole speeches or episodes from one tragedy to
another/' The fact that Aristotle proceeds to discuss the per-
tinency of the melic parts to the subject of the drama is a con-
firmation of the view advanced above, that in the first sentence
he had in mind, though not exclusively, as here, the manner in
•Muff, Chorische Technik den Soph., finds that the Sophoclean chorus takes no
part in the action in Antigone, Electro, Oedipus Rex, and Trachiniae, while some of
the melic parts in the last named drama alone are open to the charge of irrelevancy.
Arnoldt, I.e., criticizes the Hecabe, Andromache, lhoades, Helen and Jphigenia Aul.
for the intermezzic character of some of their choral odes, hut no play for the inac-
tivity of its chorus. Mahaffy, Or. Lit., I, 817, goes so far as to say that the
chorus " was not by Euripides, but by Sophocles, degraded to be a mere spectator of
the action." But he misses the distinction that 1 point out above. The weak re-
mark of Schol. Arist. Ach. 443: ovros 7&p (i. e. Eurip.) eUrdyti rofo x°P°bi ovre ra
*ft6Aovfo #0*770^*01/* Tfl vwo$4c€t icrt, and that of Accius (apud Nonius, p. 178) :
ssd Euripides, qui choros temerius in fabulis, have had apparently too much eifect
on modern criticism. An able defense of the choruses of Euripidis is found in De-
charm e, in Euripide et I' esprit de son theatre, Paris, 1893.
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292 EDWARD CAPPS.
which an ideal chorus should be made an integral part of the
whole. There is not the slightest ground for the inference that
the chorus whose odes are purely intermezzi take no part in the
action.10 Aristotle is discussing now a part of the function of the
chorus; the whole was sketched in the first sentence. On the
contrary, since one of the requisites of the ideal chorus is avva-
<y<Dv%€<r0at, and since oi \onroi receive no word of criticism on
this score, it is a fair inference that Aristotle had no reason to
rebuke the poete of his day for the inactivity of their choruses.
It will be shown later that the dramas of the fourth century seem
to bear out this inference.
What is precisely Aristotle's criticism of Agathon ? It is com-
monly asserted, on the strength of this passage, that Agathon
was the first to substitute entertaining musical interludes for odes
on subjects directly suggested by the play; that this was his
practice and that of his successors. We have the authority of
Aristotle that this was indeed the prominent characteristic of the
tragedy of his day. But was it the regular practice of Agathon,
or did he merely furnish one marked example of it ? The latter
is Welcker's view (Gr. Trag. p. 1000 ff.), and it seems to me ex-
tremely probable. Iu ch. 18 of the Poetics Aristotle warns against
the danger of dramatizing an epic subject, extended in time and
embracing too ramified a myth. Such an attempt, he says, can-
not be successful, arjfieiov 8e* oaoi Trepaiv 'l\tov oXtjv hrotyaav —
17 i/ariirTovaiv rj /ca/cw ay<DPi£ovrai • iwel teal ' A 7 ddcov i£&7T€<r€v iv
tovt<p /juipep. From this Hermann and others have inferred that
Agathon wrote a play embracing the material contained in the
'Wiov IIe/D<rt9. Now he would have been a poet of extraordinary
ability who could have dramatized a story so full of incident and
so extended in time, and at the same time have kept his chorus up
to the Sophoclean standard. A good illustration is the TYoadesof
Euripides, a more or less loosely connected series of scenes from
the same subject as that of Agathon, but on a smaller scale.
Some of the stasima narrowly escape being ifij36\ifia. Given the
10 And yet many have committed themselves openly to this non aequitur. Rib-
bkck, Rom. Trag.% p. 7, says: " damit (i. e., Agathon, by writing 4fx06\Lfia) jede
Theilnahme des Chors an der Handlung abschnitt," and Christ, Theat. des Polycl.%
Sitzungsbcr. der bay. Akad , p. 26 : " dUse (iiAfttKipa) setzen ja keinen Wechselverkehr
zwischen Chor urtd Buhne voraus.1' So also Leo, Plaut. Forach.^ p. 85, n. 2.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 293
broader subject of the Iliupersis, it would have been almost im-
possible to link the episodes together more closely than, for
example, the three parts of a trilogy. As for the chorus, it
would have been an easy matter to give it a part in the action,
but between the episodes it would be left high and dry. It seems
to me, therefore, altogether probable that the play in which
Agathon set the example of ififiSXipa was an " Uiupersis,"
whether this was its exact title or not. It is not probable that so
elever a poet made the experiment again. Elsewhere Aristotle
has nothing but praise for him, considering him alone of the
younger poets worthy to be placed side by side with Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides.
We have seen that Aristotle gives us implicit information as to
the character of the fourth century tragic chorus which furnishes
us with a valuable presumption that will assist in our further in-
vestigation. We know that the choruses of Euripides show no
decline in his later period, so far as concerns their participation in
the action.11 It is true that choral odes that may almost be called
ifii/36)ufia occur, though rarely. This is true even of Sophocles.
Under the influence of Sophocles, Euripides, and Agathon, and
partly, doubtless, through lack of higher dramatic ability, the poets
of the fourth century came to neglect the vital, traditional connec-
tion of the chorus with the drama, which in early times was
exhibited mainly in the choral songs. It is incredible, however,
that the strong conservative influence12 exercised by Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and especially by Euripides, on the whole later history
of the drama, should have failed to maintain the chorus, exter-
nally at least, in close connection with the plot. The sons of the
three great tragic poets, thoroughly trained in the technique of
their fathers, brought tragedy over into the fourth century, not
considerably changed in any of its essential features. The ten-
dency in the fifth century was to diminish the part of the chorus.
This tendency doubtless continued. But if we had representative
plays from the beginning and end of the fourth century, is it
"Okmichkn, (B-W.y p. 299), quotes the comic poet Plato apud Athen. xiv,
628b, to prove the inactivity of the chorus in the time of Euripides, (which was
also, we should remember, the time of Sophocles). But Athenaeus quotes the
verses merely to illustrate a point about choral (dithyrambic?) dancing.
"See Ribbbck, Rom. Trag., p. 1.
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294 EDWARD CAPPS.
probable that we should find a greater difference between them
than between the Suppliants of Aeschylus and the Aulian Iphigenia ?
If the chorus were separated from both plot and action, it is hard
to see why the Athenians should have spent so much money on
its further maintenance.
The contemporaries of Demosthenes, who were thoroughly
familiar with the masterpieces of the classical period of the
drama, and who had the opportunity every year of comparing
the new with the old, seemed to have loved the new no less by
reason of the comparison. The /eaival Tpay<p8iai were the chief
attraction of the Great Dionysia. Aristotle, also, who insisted so
strongly on the maintenance of the high standard of the fifth
century, by no means disapproved of the new tragedy. He draws
his illustrations from Theodectes, Polyeidus, Dicaeogenes and
Astydamus almost as often as from the classical trio, with whom
he clearly believes them worthy to be classed.13 Chaeremon and
Carcinus are censured, but so is Euripides, by all odds the most
popular poet of the time, almost as often as he is praised. Hence,
though the extant fragments are too scanty to warrant an inde-
pendent judgment, yet we have a good right to suppose that
tragedy did not at once decline through the inferiority of the new
generation of poets.
A probable indication of the general characteristics of the chor-
uses of the later poets may be obtained from au examination of
the plays of Euripides. The most natural expedient of a poet who
is conscious of the dramatic weakness of his chorus is to intro-
duce some external connection with the action, or to offer some
form of entertainment that will draw attention from the defect.
Sophocles seems to have resorted to this device in the Trachiniae7
whose chorus, though weak in comparison with that of the
Oedipus, still " ergotzt das Publicum durch Mannifaltigkeit und Week-
sel in Vortrag und Stdlung " (Muff., 1. c. p. 226). A lesser poet, but
perhaps a better though less conscientious playwright, Euripides,
uses the first device. Take, for example, the two plays in which
are found the clearest examples of ififtdXifia fieXtf — the Helen
(third stasimon) and Andromache (fourth stasimon). Admitting
w Mahaffy again needs correction when he says (i, 390), that Aristotle *' hardly
mentions any of them, and then almost always by way of censure."
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 295
for the moment that the chorus in these odes fulfils only the func-
tions of a band, is the chorus in general of so little consequence to
the action as a band ? The Helen furnishes one of the few in-
stances that have never been disputed of the passage of the chorus
over the " stage " (v. v. 315, 327), and of its attack on actors (724,
846). In the Andromache (817 ff.), the chorus is on the point of
entering the house when deterred by the entrance of Hermione.
In every play whose chorus has been criticized for the irrelevancy
of its songs,14 whether the criticisms have been just or not, are
found indications of direct participation in the action. In view
of this fact I suspect that the chorus in Agathon's " Iliupersis "
exhibited the same kind of activity. It was probably composed
of soldiers. What more probable than that, when not singing their
interludes, they should have filled the scene with " alarums and
excursions " ? It is doubtful if the audience would have found
fault with such a chorus, whatever might be the verdict of the
judges and of Aristotle.
The tragedy Rhesus, which tradition has assigned to Euripides,
is now generally believed to have been written in the fourth cen-
tury.15 The grounds on which this belief rests are manifold, and,
taken altogether, fairly conclusive. In view of the widespread and
growing belief in its later origin, I shall call it into evidence on
the question of the chorus of the fourth century — remembering
always that this dating is to a certain extent hypothetical.
The chorus of Rhesus is formed of Trojan soldiers, the night-
watch of Hector's camp. Its presence is remarkably well motived,
14 Arnoldt has shown that there is generally a sufficient dramatic reason for the
irrelevancy— and Arnoldt is no blind champion of Euripides, as Hartung was. The
latter {Ear. Restitutes n, p. 369), finds only two odes that ate open to this criti-
cism— in Iph. Taur. and Hel. I omit the former in recognition of Arnoldt's de-
fense {I. c. p. 86), and take the Andr. as a clearer case. The third stasimon of the
Helen has been thought by Fritzsche and O. Muller to have been taken from another
tragedy. On the fourth stasimon of Andr. see Arnoldt, I. c. p. 68. Few critics
would agree with Bernhardy, who says that the majority of Euripides' choral odes
are merely " Beiwerke und Randzeichnungen," or would go as far as Wilamowitz,
Herakl. I, p. 364. See Wkil, Jour. des Sav. 1893, p. 600.
u Since Valcanaer's Diatribe in Euripidis fragmenta (see $88, page 86, of the
Glasgow Euripides). Sittl {Or. Lit. m, p. 831) is an exception. Christ {N.
Jahrb. f. Phil. 1894, 160), has receded from the position taken in his Lilt. Qesch., p.
229, that it is a work of Euripides' early period. For the full literature of the subject
see Rolfk in vol. iv of the Harvard Studies. Wilamowitz, Herakl. I, p. 130, sug-
gests 370-80 as the probable time of composition.
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296 EDWARD CAPPS.
and its sympathy with the actors complete. This close relation
finds expression not only in appropriate choral songs but also in
lively participation in dialogue and action. The chorus is in an
unusual degree one of the actors. The realism of the play is
enhanced by the departure of the chorus from the scene in order
to call the relief watch, thus giving the spies the opportunity to
enter the camp. The play is further remarkable for the appear-
ance of two Oeol airo firjxavr}?. The choral odes are short and
metrically simple, but always apposite. The author of this play,
therefore, conforms to the Aristotelian ideal of a chorus in both
its applications, although he is entirely unhampered by conven-
tions and rules in every other respect. An evident und doubtless
conscious imitator, or rather student, of the earlier poets, he had
yet native ability enough to give his chorus a distinct character of
its own,16 whatever be the defects in the economy of the piece.
In its external characteristics the chorus is exactly what the pre-
ceding discussion has led us to expect in a play of the fourth
century. On the other hand there are no ififioXifjua — the com-
pact plot prevented that. In other respects I suspect that it is
very similar to the chorus in Agathon's " Iliupersis " — a play
which would have afforded precisely the same opportunities for
spectacle and animated action.
The first Roman tragedy was produced sixty years after the
end of the fourth century. Roman tragedy, even to a greater
extent than comedy, was confessedly not only modelled on that of
the Greeks, but often directly copied (Cic. defin. 1, 2). Even if
no fragments were extant, we should have the right to assume
that, as a rule, no important character of the original was
omitted, especially in the earlier translations. Very slight evi-
dence of " contamination " is found.17 Oemichen18 is to a certain
extent right when he says that most of the G reek originals were
^Croibet, Hist. Litt. Gr., in, p. 380, well says "La facon dont it emploieU
choeur en cher chant a supplcer par le spectacle et le movement au merite des chants ,
denote un esprit qui cherche."
"Welckkr, Or. Trag.y p. 1348: il im Oanzen und Orossen war die romische
Tragbdie vor der Augustischen Periode tint ubcrsctztc, die einzelnen Stucke auf griech-
ische Originate durchgdngig gegrundet."
18 He wrongly adds : " (Eine Zeit) in der die chorische Actione als lastige Fessel
empfunden und deshalb beschnitten wurde." B-W. p. 286.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 297
taken from the later period of the drama. They were taken from
the plays which were at that time to be seen in Greek theatres.
A large number of them, however, were the trakaiaX rpay<p8(ai9
-especially of Euripides. But whatever was the time of the com-
position of the Greek originals, we may expect to find in the
Roman reproductions a fairly true reflection not only of the gen-
eral character of the later Greek tragedy, but also the art and
manner of the presentation of both the old and the new tragedies
in the contemporary Greek theatre, just as is the case with
■comedy.
Grysar, Jahn, and Eibbeck have established the fact that Ro-
man tragedy never lacked a chorus.19 The activity of this chorus
was not confined to the interludes, though not many years ago
scholars maintained the contrary on the strength of Donatus*
as confidently as they now maintain it, on the strength of Aris-
totle, for the later Greek tragedy. In Horace, Ep.y 2, 3, 215 :
tibicen traxitque uagus per pulpitum uestem, is found an indication of
the customary freedom of movement of the chorus following the
musician. In the scanty fragments Ribbeck and Jahn have found
sufficient evidence that the choreutae regularly came into close
contact with the actors. They engage in conversation with them
in the Medea and Thyestes of Ennius, the Antiopa, Chryses, and
Niptra of Pacuvius, and the Philocteta of Accius. Bacchic choruses
seem to have been especially popular, occurring in the Lycurgus
of Naevius, the Periboea, Antiopa, and Pentheus of Pacuvius, and
the Bacchae of Accius. Such plays as the Mcmenides and the
Alcumeo of Ennius probably suggested to Cicero the image which
he found so effective : " quern ad modum in fabidis saepenum-
ero uidetis, eos, qui aliquid impie sceleratque commiserunt, agitari et
perterri Furiarum taedis ardentibus. (Rose. Am. 24, 67; cf. in Pis. 20).
Further still, in the Philocteta, a chorus of sailors accompanies
19 See Grysar, Canticum u. Chor der rom. Trag. in Sitzungsber. d. wien. Akad.
16 (1855), 865 fl'.; Jahn, in Hermes 2 (1867), 225 ff., and Ribbeck, Rom. Trag.
and Oesch. d. rom. Dichtung, and the convenient summary in Schwabe's last revision
of Teuffel's Oesch. der rom. Lit, I, 20.
wArg. to Andria: est igliur attente animaduertendum ubi et quando scaena
uaeua sit ab omnibus per sonis, ut in ea chorus uel tibicen audiri possit / quod quom
uideremus, ibi actum esse finitum debemus agnoscere. Tibicen seems to refer to
comedy, chorus to tragedy. Donatus is not in error. The function of the chorus
•during the progress of the piece does not concern him.
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298 EDWARD CAPPS.
TJlixes and Diomedes, and a similar chorus appears in the Iphi-
genia of Ennius. In the Antiopa (i) of Pacuvius the choreutae
threaten an actor (Ribbeck, T. R. F. Jr. inc. iv), and in his Niptra
(Jr. ix) they carry the wounded TJlixes in upon the stage. In the
Antigona of Accius (Jr. iv), the chorus of watchmen seize the heroine
as she sprinkles dust on her brother's corpse. A second chorus
appears in the Eumenides and Alexander of Ennius and in the
Antiopa of Pacuvius. Such subordinate choruses were probably
always taken from the Greek original, but they seem to have been
given far greater prominence. One of the peculiarities that we
observed in the Rhesus occurs again and again on the Roman
stage — the withdrawal of the chorus during the progress of the
play. This is found in plays in whose Greek originals the chorus
remained in its position, e. g., the Antigona, Iphigenia, and others.
Ribbeck regards it as exceptional for the chorus to remain on
the scene from its entrance to the close of the piece. It probably
came and went as it was needed, thus adding life and movement
and spectacular effect, as well as affording more room on the
stage for actors (Jahn, I. c. p. 227). The Roman poets in this way
evaded the difficult task of keeping the chorus in easy and natu-
ral connection with the actors during the dialogues. In short,
the chorus on the Roman stage, except for its songs between the
acts, was much like the mobs, retinues, and armies on the
modern stage, though it had a more intimate part in the action.
To compare it with the modern band would be radically mislead-
ing.
I have mentioned so far only those plays which can with proba-
bility be traced back to fifth century originals. The plot, characters,
and chorus generally are retained practically without change, but
the treatment of the chorus reminds one rather of Aeschylus than
of Sophocles. When Ennius in his Iphigenia substitutes a chorus
of sailors for the Chalcidian maidens of Euripides, and Pacuvius
in his Antiopa a chorus of watchmen for the Theban elders of
Sophocles, the desire is clearly seen of establishing a closer per-
sonal relation between chorus and actors, with a view to impart-
ing more life and activity to the former. Ennius and Pacuvius
doubtless had examples to follow, not only in the later Greek
imitations of the classical dramas, but also in the practice of the
stage-managers in the contemporary Greek theatres, who regu-
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 299
larly brought out the old favorites, set and interpreted according
to the tastes of the time, very much as Shakespeare is brought
out in our own day in the best theatres.
It is difficult to identify Roman copies with originals from the
fourth and following centuries, firstly because only scanty frag-
ments of both original and copy remain ; secondly because the
Roman poets often changed the original title. Some of the plays
above mentioned may come from late treatments of subjects used
by the earlier poets; for the late Greek tragedy shows little
variety in the selection of myths and much imitation in their em-
ployment. Undoubtedly some of the Bacchic subjects are of this
class, e. g., the Statistae or Tropaeiim Liberi of Accius, the Nuptiae
Bacchi of Santra, and, according to Leo, the Periboea of Pacuvius.
Welcker and Ribbeck refer the original of the Hector Prqficiscens
of Naevius to Astydamas, whose Hector was a war piece, like the
Rhesus. The Penthesilm of Ennius (?) seems to go back to Chaere-
mon, as well as the Io of Accius, whose Hellenes waa probably
taken from Apollodorus. The Armorum Judicium of Pacuvius
was more likely a copy of the Aias of Theodectes, which, accord-
ing to Aristotle (Rhet. 1399 b, 1400 a), gave special prominence
to the ottKcov /cpfois, than of the similar piece by Aeschylus.
Other plays that cannot be identified, but which almost certainly
do not go back to the fifth century, show traces of important chor-
uses. The Iliona of Pacuvius used to a certain extent the material
of the Hecabe of Euripides, but is later ; the Ino of Livius had a
chorus of worshippers of Trivia, and the Nyctegresia of Accius was
probably a copy of the Rhesus. The Alexander of Ennius had a cho-
rus of shepherds. The Myrmidones of Accius, if it is not after
Aeschylus, as Ribbeck thinks, may have been taken from Astyda-
mas, Carcinus, Euaretus, or another fourth century poet. It admits
of no doubt that, if we had more extensive data, we should find
that a very large number of Latin tragedies were based on post-clas-
sical originals.21 The chorus in the Roman tragedy, with its leading
characteristics which I have tried to trace, was not an inheritance
from the old Greek tragedy alone, but from Greek tragedy as a
11 Leo, Seneca, I, p. 168, n. 16, attributes the following to post-Euripidean poets :
the Duloreetes, Iliona, Medtis, Periboea, and Atalania of Pacuvius, and the Melanip-
pus, Clytemnestra, and Hellenes of Accius.
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300 EDWARD CAPPS.
whole. So firmly had the Greek conception of tragedy taken hold
of the Romans that, when they made a national tragedy of their own,
as far removed as possible from Greek influence, the chorus was re-
tained as a matter of course. Ribbeck embraces Roman tragedy
of all periods, both Greco-Roman and praetexta, when he says
(Gesch. rom. Dicht. I., 194), that it strove " durch drastiscbe Mittel
die Aufmerksamkeit zu fesseln," and he considers that the
chorus contributed largely to that end.
The Roman chorus appeared, of course, upon the stage. There
was no other place for it, and the Roman stage was large enough.
The activity of the Roman chorus has been explained by this fact
alone, for when brought so near the actors and upon the .same
level, what was more natural than that it should be given a part
in the action? What was the exception in the Greek theatre,
says Jahn (I. c. p. 227), became the rule in the Roman, that the
chorus might not become a mere chorus of dummies. But Jahn,
of course, did not know that it was, in fact, the rule in the
Greek theatre also for the chorus to commingle with the actors.
One who recognizes the general attitude of the Roman poets
toward their Greek models, and their almost absolute lack of
originality in all that pertains to dramatic art, will be loth to con-
cede that the chorus was rescued by them from imbecility, or
even elevated by them from a position comparable to that of a
band. In view of the interpretation of Aristotle, which I
have offered, and of the evidence of the last plays of the fifth
century and of the fourth century Rhesus, I cannot but think that
the Roman chorus, which seems hitherto to have been overlooked
in interpreting the Greek, furnishes strong grounds for believing
that the external characteristics of the Greek tragic chorus, and, to
a certain extent, its inner relations to the drama, remained unim-
paired from the fifth century down to the first. Horace was not
only laying down a practical precept, but was also insisting on an
actual, historical fact, when he defined the functions of the tragic
chorus :
actoris partes chorus officiumque uirile
defendat, neu quid medios intercinat actus,
quod non proposito conducat et haereat apte.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 301
THE LATER SATYRIC CHORUS.
Originally one of the most characteristic forms of the worship
of Dionysus, and, with the dithyrambic chorus, the precursor of
both tragedy and comedy, the satyr-drama in classical times occu-
pied a position at the festivals and in public interest distinctly
inferior to tragedy and comedy. Comedy had so grown in popu-
larity after its admission to the Great Dionysia, and filled so satis-
factorily the desire of the Athenian populace for scurrility, irrev-
erence and buffoonery, that we can readily conceive that the satyr-
drama continued to wane in proportion as its traditional import-
ance was lost sight of. When it became necessary for Athens to
retrench expenses on all sides to tide over the years of distress
that followed the Peloponnesian war, we should expect to find
that the lusty companion of tragedy was the first to feel the
change. There is no record until 340 b. c, however, that such a
change was made. An inscription of that year (CIA, n, 973, U,
17, 30), shows that the number of satyric plays given each year
was reduced from three to one. Yet during the first half of the
fourth century the satyr-drama seems to have continued to flourish.
Achaeus the Eretrian, a younger contemporary of Euripides, held
a high place in satyric poetry. The philosopher Menedemus
ranked him next to Aeschylus iv tow carvpois (Diog. Laert.
2, 133). The titles of seven of his satyri are known. Still later
than Achaeus, Astydamas is represented by two, Chaeremon by
three or four,22 Python and Timocles by one each, while four or five
fragments that possibly belong to this period are found among
the ahiairora.^ This is a large number considering that titles can
be reclaimed for this branch of the drama often only by the
shrewdest combinations alone.
Toward the end of the fourth century it seems that the satyr-
drama fell more or less into disuse, though we are told of the
performance of the 'Ay^y, a aarvpiKov Spafidriov, of which either
Python or Alexander the Great was the author (Nauck, T. G. F.2
p. 810). A revival took place under the influence of Sositheus of
»Nauck, T. G. F* pp. 781 ff.; Welcker, Nachtrag, 288 ff. I am inclined to
think that the Ktrravpot also was a satyric drama, not a tragedy. The comic poets
Pherecrates and Nicochares made use of the same subject in the "Aypioi and Ktrravpos.
mNauck, T.G.F.* Nos. 90, 146, 165, 205, and possibly 346.
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302 EDWARD CAPPS.
the Alexandrine Pleias, as is recorded by his contemporary, Dios-
corides (Anth. Pal. vir, 707). The satyr Scirtus is supposed to be
standing at the tomb of the poet, as another had done at that df
Sophocles (ibid, no. 37), speaking as follows :
« K1770} 2ft><ri0A>i/ KOfi&o vitcvv, &g<tov iv acrei
a\\o? air avdatpxov fjfieripoav !£,o<l>otc\fjv,
*2/c{pro$ 6 Trvfipoy&mos ■ iKLcraofyop-qae ytlp oivijp
agia QXiaat&v, teal /lit xopois, ^arvpoav.
fcrjfii, rbv iv Kcuvois reOpafifievop rjOeciv rjSr),
Tjyayev eU fipqfirjv, irarpih* avapyaUra^.
Trarpk, as Welcker (Gr. Trag., 1254, note) says, is clearly a
reference to Athens. The chorus was still the prominent feature
as of old. In fact a satyric play without a chorus, either of satyrs
or of a suitable substitute for them, {e.g. the pupils of Menedemus
in Lycophron's piece Mep&qfto?), is not to be thought of at any
period in the history of this branch of dramatic poetry.24 The
importance of the satyr-drama after the revival instituted by Sosi-
theus is shown by the fact that they were composed by at least
four of the seven Pleiades— Philiscus (Nauck, T. G. F. p. 819),
and Alexander Aetolus (Schenkl, Wien. Stud. 10, 326), besides
Sositheus and Lycophron — as well as by Callimachus, Timon and
Timesitheus (Welcker, Nachtrag, 313), and Ameinias(CTGr 1584,
ca. 195 b. c.) — an importance reflected in the art of the third and
following centuries.25
The continuance of the satyr-drama outside of Athens even
down into Roman times has long been known from inscriptions.
See Le Bas, As. Min. p. 37, nos. 91, 92; CIG 1584, 1585, 2758, iv;
Bull. Corr. Hell. 2 (1878), 590 ; 9E<f>vfi. 'ApX. 1884, 121 ff. ; Archiv.
d. missions scientif. et UttSr., 2m* ser., torn, iv, 522; Rhangabe,
Ant. Hell. 11, 691, 1. 20 ; Keil, Insc. BoeoL, p. 61 ; cf. Diog. Laert.
5, 85. Fulgentius tells of the satyra in Alexandria after the time
of Cicero.26 New records have more recently come to light. An in-
scription from Rhodes, skilfully put together by Kaibel {Hermes 2,
** "Das8 ein Satyrdrama ohne Satyrcbor bestehen konnte .... lasst sich in keinem
Fall glaublich raachen," Kaibel, Hermes, 1895, 78. For the chorus in the Mene-
demus see Ath. 10, 420; ir oh tfvqaiv 6 ZtXyjvbi Tpbs t<m>$ o-artfpovt, and cf. ibid. 427 c.
» Ath. 196 F, 198 d. ; Jahn, Berichte d. sacks. Gesell. d. Wise. 1847, 294, and
Philologus 27, 17 j Heydemann, ninth Wincklemann Prog, from Halle, p. 10.
"Welcker, Gr. Trag., p. 1270.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 303
269 ff.) tells of the production in the first century before Christ of a
complete Sophoclean trilogy followed by the satyr-drama Telephus.
Finally some inscriptions from Magnesia, recently published by
Kern (Ath. Mitth., 1894, 96 ff.), give a satyric piece with the lists
of comedies and tragedies for each year. The poets and plays
for five years are as follows : Theodorus %vry ((Wtrn;?) ; Polemon,
name of play omitted ; Polemaeus Atavri ; Harmodius Uporrea^
\dq>; Theodorus HaXafiijSrj. The date is about the first century.
Although at this time Athens was no longer the centre of the Hel-
lenic world, yet the fact that the documents above quoted come,
not from Alexandria, Pergamon or Antioch, but from small in-
land towns and from islands, whose festivals had a purely local
character, lends no small degree of probability to the supposition
that the satyr-drama still flourished at its early home.27
THE CHORUS IN THEiMIDDLE COMEDY.
The plays of Plautus and Terence, which go back almost exclu-
sively to the new comedy,28 must be accepted as proof that the
comic chorus had disappeared by the second century before Christ.
"We should perhaps be justified in placing the date still earlier,
but for the fact that among the fragments of the new comedy are
found remains of choral odes, which Meineke has collected in vol.
1, p. 441 ff. of his Comic Fragments. The Soteric inscriptions of
27 The question of the satyr-drama among the Romans does not concern us here.
The Erigona and 2M*itpoi of Quintus Cicero were probably satyric plays (Rib-
beck) Rom. Trag. 626 tt*.), and the Sisyphus of Pomponius (Porphyrio on Hor. Ep.
2, 8, 221). Horace certainly seems to have living and future writers of a&rvpoi in
mind in Ep. 2, 3, 221 (Kiessling. ad loc.). The close resemblance, if not relation-
ship, between the Atellane farces and the satyr-drama is well known. The farces of
Sulla were said to be aarvpucal Kutfju^dicu (Ath. 6, 261 c). In the face of all this and
the evidence cited above, the contention of Maass (Annali del Inst.^ 1881, 120)
that the satyr-drama disappeared after the Pleias, cannot be 'maintained. Kern's
view that the satyr-drama flourished in Rome as a distinct branch of the drama is
more probable now than ever before.
"HUffner, de Plauti comoed. exemplis Att.t Diss. Gdtt. 1894, agrees with
Wilamowitz (Index Lect. Gott, 1898), in attributing the Persa to a fourth century
original. Holm, however, will not concede even this (Berl. phil. Woch. 1894, 1268).
Almost all of the Plautine pieces whose originals can be dated come from the first
quarter of the third century. Apart from Aul. Gel. 2, 28, there is no evidence of
the use of models from the middle comedy.
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804 EDWARD CAPPS,
the third century give some comic choreutae in each list21 Roman
comedy, like Roman tragedy, followed the contemporary Greek
usage even in using models of an earlier period. The chorus in
the new comedy, however, as far as it existed at all, was only a
shadow of the earlier comic chorus. On the other hand the last
extant play of Aristophanes has a chorus that is materially cur-
tailed. What was the history of the chorus during this interval
of 100 years ? It is the general belief that the marked decline
noticed in the second Pluiusy produced in 388, probably the next
year after the HJcclesiazusae, whose chorus is still vigorous, was
followed abruptly by a practically chorusless comedy. The chorus
was the heart and spul of the old comedy. Its abolition involved
the entire reconstruction on experimental lines of this branch of
the drama. So great a change, if it occurred suddenly, must have
been produced by the pressure of external influences. If no such
influences can be found, and no authentic record of the sudden
change, then we must believe that the history of the middle
comedy was a history of gradual development as regards both
form and matter. The question therefore limits itself to this —
have we sufficient evidence for the prevalent belief that the comic
chorus, as we know it from the old comedy, was abolished early
in the fourth century ?
Our principal sources for the history of the later Attic comedy,
apart from the scanty notices in Aristotle, are the treatises of the
grammarians which are prefixed to the scholia of Aristophanes.
Most of them are wretched compilations, but they go back to
earlier authorities, whom we can trust if only we can glean their
statements from the mass of rubbish in which they are buried.
Many contributions have already been made toward this result. Of
these the instructive dissertation of Fielitz, de Atticorum comoedia
bipartita, Bonn, 1866, must receive especial attention here. His
main contention is that before the time of Hadrian the threefold
division of Attic comedy was unknown ; that the Alexandrine
grammarians recognized only two, the old and the new. Thus
many contradictions in the ancient notices find an easy explana-
n Dated by Dittenberqeb after 229 b. c. Mtf ller, B-A. 488, thinks that the
chorus simply filled the pauses in the play — an inference that is by no means
necessary.
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THE CHORUS IN THE. LATER GREEK DRAMA. 305
tion. Kaibel (Hernws, 24 (1889), 56 ff.) has shown that Fielitz
left out of account the certain existence of a tradition which the
post-Hadrianic writers took up. Two canons long existed side
by side, that of the Alexandrines recognizing the threefold
division, and that of the Pergamene school the twofold. Our
notices are generally a mixture of the two. Fielitz tried farther
to prove that, in the twofold division, what was afterward called
the middle comedy was classed with the new. So far as I know
this claim has received general acceptance. The argument rests
essentially on the assumption that the middle comedy resembled
the new more than the old. I believe that it can be shown that
the contrary is the case, especially as regards the chorus, whose
absence from the middle comedy Fielitz takes for granted.
Aristotle had noticed that a change had taken place in comedy.
Poetry, he says in the Poetics (1451 b, 7 ff.), differs from History
in that it confines itself to ra tca06\ov^ whereas the latter deals
with ra tcaO' Itcaarov • eirl fikv ofrv t?}9 tcwfupStas ^St) tovto 8fj\ov
yiyovev • avarriaavTe; yap rbv fivOov Sia r&v eltcSrwv, ovrco ra rvyjivra
ovdfiara inroriOiaaiv, teal ov% (Sairep oi lafiffoiroiol irepl rbv tcaff
hcaarov iroioxknv. The lapftoiroiol are especially the old comic
poets. In 1449 b, 8, Crates is said to have been the first to give
up rijv laplSi/ety iiiav in comedy. In Eth. Nic. 4, 14, 1128 a, 22,
he makes the point clearer : tSoi 8* av w teal ite r&v /ccofupStcov r&v
iraXatoiv teal r&v tcaiv&v • rots pev yap Ijv yeXoiov jj aUrxpo\oy(ay
rols Sk paWov i) inr6voia. From these passages we learn that the
comic poets of his day abused people in a general way and not by
name, and that they had substituted suggestive allusions for down-
right obscenity, and that the change begins with Crates, that is, just
before Aristophanes. That Aristotle is speaking of the general
tendencies that characterized the early and the recent comedy is
abundantly shown by the plays of Aristophanes and the frag-
ments of his successors. It is to be noticed that he uses the
general terms iraXaid and tcaarf, whereas the grammarians gener-
ally use the more specific apyaia and v4a to distinguish the definite
periods. Aristotle lias no intention of marking out specific periods
in the history of comedy. It was still too early for that. But
the broad distinctions that he draws between " the former and
the recent comedies" became the starting point for the early
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806 EDWARD CAPPS.
grammarians, who received their impulse and their methods
largely from him. Almost every succeeding writer accepted as
the principal criterion for the various periods the extent and the
quality of the axm^fiara employed. In the last passage quoted
the division into two periods lies on the surface : (1) the period of
open abuse, roughly the fifth century, (2) the period of mitigated
license, the fourth century down to the time of writing. Taking
strictly into account the reference to Crates, we could make three
periods: (1) the period before Crates, (2) that of Aristophanes, (3)
from Aristophanes to Aristotle — for we know that alcrxpo\oy(a
characterizes Aristophanes much better than irn-dvoia. Aristotle
doubtless did not intend, however, that the kcuvtj should begin
with Crates. He mentions him incidentally, very much as he
mentions Agathon in the Poetics, as the precursor of the change
that afterward prevailed. I cannot agree, therefore, with Wilamo-
witz (Herakles i, p. 134, note) when he says that the comedy
afterwards designated as fiearj (the /cawr? of Aristotle) was orig-
inally intended as a division according to content and not accord-
ing to time (begrifflich, not zeitlich). The fact that Plato is the
regular representative in the ancient accounts of the f^o-rj, though
he was a contemporary of Aristophanes, upon which Wilamowitz's
assertion seems to rest, will be explained later on. Certainly we
do not find in him that mildness which Aristotle ascribes to the
middle comedy. To go back to Aristotle, one fact deserves
especial emphasis. He says not a word about the chorus.
After the development of the new comedy of Philemon and
Menander it was possible to make either a broad division of Attic
comedy into two periods on the basis of the presence or absence
of the chorus and other characteristics equally marked, or to ex-
tend Aristotle's twofold division, on the basis of the GK&inuna
employed, designating his icawr\ as middle, or lastly to make a still
more subtile division suggested by the reference to Crates. Nat-
urally considerations of language, metre, myth, etc., would also
be taken into account. The first, the twofold division, which
Kaibel attributes to the Pergamene school, appears in several
ancient accounts; the second, which modern scholars have
adopted, seems to have found very little favor in ancient times,
whereas the third, which seems the least acceptable of all, is
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 30T
found in a large majority of the writers irepl teajHpSuis. It will be
necessary to examine these various traditions to ascertain whether
or not Fielitz's position is tenable.
The anonymous writer irepl KWfMphias v (Diibner and Bergk),
whose account is the most straightforward of all, recognizes the
three divisions, to p.ev apxatov, to Be viov, to Be pAaov. In the
analysis of the differences between them, however, he apparently
leaves to fiiaov out of account. Hence editors have bracketed
these words as an interpolation. But Kaibel (L <?., p. 63) be-
lieves that the whole account is a careless Byzantine conta-
mination, undeserving ' of correction, addding that to p.i<rovy
if due to an interpolation, would have been put in its proper
position between the two others. I agree with Kaibel that the
words belong where they are, but for a very different reason,
which has been strangely overlooked. The account proceeds:
T179 Be via? 8ia<f>ipei 77 iraXaia tcaptpBta ypovy, 8t,aXeter(p, vXtj, pA-
Tp(py hiacrKevf). Xpov<p jiiv tcado 17 fiev via eirX 'AXejjdvBpov, r) Bk
iraXaia hrX r&v TleXoTrovvTjaia/c&v el^e rrjv a/cfiqv. Biaa/eevy
8£, ota iv fiev rij via xopov ovk eSei, iv i/ceCvy Be Bel. 2. KaX air if
Be i) iraXaia eavTrfS Bia<f>ipei. /cal yap 01 iv 'Attuct} irptorov
cuoTrfo-dfievoi to iiriT^B-Vfix tjj? KcojjL'pSias (Tfaav Be oi irepX ^ovaapC-
wva) teal Ta Trp6awrra elarjyov ardKrco^% teal jiovos fjv yiXa>$ to tcara-
0tc€va£6/jLevov. 3. iinyev6fievo^ Be 0 Kparivos /cariarrjae fiev *irpS>TOV
ra iv ttj KcofiyBla irpdacoira fiexpX rpitav, OTqaas rrjv ara^iav, teal t£
yapUmi Trjs /c(OfM(pSta<; to oi<f>iXifiov irpoaidrfKe^ rois fcatcay; irpdrrov-
Ta9 BiaffdXXoov . 4. aXXf eri fiev teal ovto? t^? ap^aioTrjro^
fiereix^ koX rjpifia 7ra>9 tt/9 ara^Um. 6 fiivroi ye 'Api<rTO<f>dvr)$ fieOoB-
evaas re^yiKimepov tcaX oxnta iraaav KG>fiq>8lav ifieXirrjae. teal yap
to tovtov Bpafia IlA.oi5T09 vewrepi^et, Kara to irXdafia, rrfv re yap
viroffeaiv ovtc aXrjOrj €^€t koX x°P<*v ioriprfraij oirep rrfs veeoripa?
inrrjpxe /ewfupBtas. To my mind it is perfectly clear that the
author adheres to the three divisions throughout. At first he
draws the broad, general distinction between the iraXatd and the
via> then the finer distinction between the two kinds of iraXaia. to
apxalov is represented by Susarion, and is characterized by crude
technique. The next is the period of perfected technique, repre-
sented by Aristophanes. Cratinus falls between the two. The
whole ancient comedy reached its highest point at the time of the
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308 EDWARD CAPPS.
Peloponnesian war. Aristophanes was not only the best poet of
his own period, but of his age as well. Then comes a different
kind, well distinguished from the preceding, but already fore-
shadowed in the later plays of Aristophanes — to v4ov. The strict
use of apxaio? and 7ra\at09 places it beyond doubt that to fiiaov
was intended to designate the second period of the first division.
The account is perfectly logical, for the lack of a chorus in the
new comedy differentiated it distinctly from both the others,
whereas the difference in the first two periods was one of species,
not of genus. The division may be represented by the scheme
I ira\aid\ (a) ap%aia (b) pear), II via.
From the fact that the acme of the new comedy is placed ewi
*AXei;dp&pou Fielitz argues that the comedy of the fourth century
was classed with the new, because Philemon alone of those wrhom
we assign to the new comedy had yet produced plays "Alexandro
regnante." But the very fact that Menander, to aarpov T779 via?
tccofiKpSias, flourished after Alexander's death shows that the
phrase is used, not unsuitably, as a designation of the Alexandrine
period. According to this writer the fieat) continued until the
loss of the chorus.
The same account occurs again, incorporated bodily in the
longer notice in Cramer's Anecdota I, 3, (Dubner ix a, 68, Bergk
vni, 14). Very similar is the notice of Diomedes (Suet. ed.
Keifferscheid, p. 9) : Poetae primi comici fuerunt Susarion MuUus
Magnes ; hi ueteris disciplinae iocalaria qaaedatn minus scite ac venuste
pronuntiabant Secunda aetate fuerunt Aristophanes Eupolis
et Cratinus, qui uel principum vitia sectati acerbissimas eomoedias eom-
posuerunL Tertia aetas fuit Menandri Diphili et Philemonis, qui
omnem acerbitatem cornoediae mitigauerunt atque argumenta multiplteia
graecis erroribus secuti sunt. Diomedes does not mention the
chorus elsewhere. He implies that Attic comedy always had a
chorus. It will be noticed that in addition to the technique (cf.
minus scite and cnd/crm) he takes up again the criterion of abusive-
ness. This is entirely the basis of Anon, ix a, 1. 150 ff. (Diib-
ner; vill, 24 Bergk), who makes three classes irpoyrq^ Sevripa^
rptTTji (1) GKwppara <f>av€pd, down to Eupolis, (2) ra crvpfiokuca
tnahft/MiTa, Eupolis, Cratinus, Pherecrates, Plato, and Aristophanes,
and (3) aKWfi/iara c& Sovkovs pdvow; teal f A*w, Menander arid
Philemon. Here, also, the chorus is left out of consideration.
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THE CHORUS itf THE LATER GREEK DRAMA, 309
So for no serious objection can be made to the threefold
division of comedy, except as to the ignorant misapplication of
Aristotle's suggestion about aKco^fiara, which puts Aristophanes
and his contemporaries among the milder poets. But another
class of writers, following largely the same principle, fall into still
greater error. As an example may be cited Anon, ix a, 1-53
(Diibner; vin, 1-10 Bergk) — a miserable compilation, full of
glaring contradictions and mistakes. The hand of the compiler or
of a still later interpolator is detected everywhere.30 The first
part is a consistent though not very intelligent account of
comedy, with special reference to the element of personal travesty.
The definitions and divisions correspond to those just quoted
from L 150 ft*, of the same extract. But the compiler adds:
ydyove Se rfjs fxev irpwrrj^ tcco/MpStas api<rro$ re^i^Tiy? ovto? re 6 'Apt-
<TTO<f>dv7)<; teal TLvttoXis koX Kparlvos • tt}? Be Sevrdpas TlXdratv, ov% 6
<t>c\6cro(f)o<; • rip Sk via? MfravSpos. The same divisions and the
same poets are found in the short account of Andronicus and in
the verses of Jo. Tzetzes trepl Scarpa? Trovqr&v. It would seem
that in their sources these writers found lists of poets made out on
flome principle of division, as well as divisions into period of comic
literature, drawn up on other principles, and ignorantly tried to
combine them.31 But none of these writers was quite so stupid
as Euanthius, who gives as the three divisions vetus, satyra, nova.
These writers also omit to mention the chorus in this connection.
I shall mention next those writers who seem to recognize only
two divisions of comedy, old and new.32 Anon, vin (Diibner)
30 IX a contains almost all the other accounts. The passage under consideration
is found also in Anon, iv and ix b (ix Bergk).
81 This supposition would account for the fact that Oatinus, Eupolis, and Aris-
tophanes, the representatives of unbridled license in writers who recognize the two-
fold division (e. g., Hor. Sat. 1. 4, 1 if.), are sometimes given as representatives of
the VK&wuLra avfxpoXucd, more satisfactorily, I think, than the explanation pro-
posed by Hendrickson in Am, Jour. Phil.y 1894, p. 80, note. Such lists of poets
are found in DCbner, hi and vin. Aristotle in Poetics H49 B, 8, seemed
to favor such a classification. On p. 15 the same writer suggests that the
confusion in Euanthiu8, account arose from an attempt to harmonize the common
threefold division with a twofold in which satura was equivalent to &px*l*- This
stems' very probable. Of course " satyr a " refers to the second division of the dpxalat
which would more correctly be called /uArif or itvripa.
•■Omitting the passing allusions of Various Roman writer*, collected* by Fielitz,
and of Plutarch.
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310 EDWARD CAPPS.
seems to belong to this class, for under the heading r&v rift
kpyalas /cw/JupSias woirjroov ovdpara teal Spdfxara he mentions Theo-
porapus, Strattis, Pherecrates, Crates, Plato, Teleclides, and
Phrynichus, that is, an indiscriminate list of poets of the fifth and
fourth centuries. The article de comoedia et tragoedia, published
by "Opener (Rh. Mas. 28, 417 ff.) distinguishes between the prior
ac vetus comoedia ridicularis, whose author was Susarion, and the
later comedy, represented by Plautus and Terence among the Ro-
mans, the writers of which, omissa makdicendi libertate, privaiorum
hominum vitam cum hilartiate imitabantur. So far no mention of the
chorus. Tzetzes, in his verses irepl tcwfupSta? v. 68 ff., mention*
only the traKaia and the vea, the former having the chorus, the
latter not. The context does not show how far the first division
extends. This is true, also, of Horace's chorus turpiter obticuitf
which will be considered later. The two Vitae of Aristophanes
state that Aristophanes irp&Tos zeal tt)? Wa? tcco/MpSias rbv rpAirov
brdSeitjev iv t$ KaucaXp, if; ov t)jv apyi)v Xafioptvoi M&av&pfc
T€ /cal QCkripLG>v iSpaparovpyrjaav. If the writer meant that the
new comedy began with the later plays of Aristophanes, which is
by no means a necessary inference, we shall see later that he wa*
in the wrong. The same holds true, so far as the chorus is con-
cerned, of Platonius who dates the chorusless middle comedy from
the same period. Anon, in makes the same threefold division
that prevails to-day, but says nothing of the chorus.
Two significant facts as regards these notices should be em-
phasized. Firstly, the poets who are assigned to the middle
comedy, (omitting Anon, ill, who mentions Antiphanes and
Stephanus) are Eupolis, Cratinus, Pherecrates, etc., Plato always,
and generally Aristophanes, but never Antiphanes, Alexis and
others who belong to what we know as the middle comedy.81
On the other hand, there is no confusion between the repre-
sentatives of the comedy of the fourth and of the third cen-
turies. Now, however faulty these classifications are, if the
•omedy of the fourth century had been recognized as forming a
u I refer, of course, only to those accounts which I have quoted above. Suidas,
Pollux, Athenaeus, the scholiasts, etc., often mention the poets of the fourth century
as belonging to t he middle comedy. But these passages are not taken into considera-
tion here because they give no information on the question at issue.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 311
distinct epoch, the poete of this period would not have failed to
receive mention. The question arises, therefore, whether this
period was considered as belonging to that of Plato or to that of
Menander. Since the criterion of /cafupSelv alviy/jLaraSm or
tca06\ov undoubtedly was first employed to distinguish the post-
Aristophanic comedy from that which preceded it, we can most
readily explain the fact that Aristophanes and Plato are often
assigned to the second period, and that Menander and Philemon
never are (Apul. Florid., 3, 16 is a palpable error), by the
supposition that the grammarians from whom these notices
sprung had no clear idea of any distinction between the fourth
century comedy and that of Aristophanes. We certainly can-
not concede the claim made by Fielitz that the new comedy
was considered to embrace the middle by the grammarians of the
twofold division, because a few times, in Suidas and in passing
allusions of late Roman writers, a poet of the new is assigned to
the middle. The second significant fact will make my point
clearer. Amidst all the confusion that pervades these notices,
the lack of a chorus is constantly kept as a distinct characteristic
of the new comedy, and in Anon, v, where the old and the middle
are combined under the common head TraXaid, it is expressly
stated that the iraXcud (not the ap^ala) required the chorus. Per-
haps some significance should be attached to this fact also, that in
many of the notices the chorus is not mentioned at all. Dio-
medes(Suet. ed. Reif.,p. 11) certainly thought that Attic comedy
always had a chorus. After various remarks about the chorus
in general, he adds: Latinae igitur comoediae chorum non habent.
Perhaps the chorus had not disappeared even from the new
comedy so far as is generally believed.
Fielitz further remarks that the characteristics of middle com-
edy, as laid down by Anon, in, are really those of new comedy.
He therefore proposes to cut out the references to the former as
interpolations. But, as Kaibcl has shown (I. c. p. 63), none of the
characteristics assigned to middle comedy belong to it exclusively,
whether it be the nature of the myths employed, the language,
the metres, or the general spirit. The predominant traits of one
period are found in the other two also, more of less modified.
The designation of the comedy of the fourth century as the middle
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312 EDWARD CAPPS.
comedy is convenient as marking the transition period, even if it
is not in accordance with some of the grammarians. To class
this period with the new, as Fielitz demands, would be to ignore
one difference that is more marked than any other — the existence
of the chorus in the fourth century and its absence in the third.
"We should be nearer the truth if we should class it with the old.
This brings us to the causes assigned for the abolition of the
chorus. They are two in number: (1) the restriction of personal
satire (a) by legal measures, (b) by intimidation of the poets, and
(2) the withdrawal of choregic support.
It is hard to see how the restriction of the privilege of lampoon-
ing important personages, bvofiaarl or <rvfi/3o7uKw<;^ whether pro-
duced by law or by threats of vengeance, should have had
anything to do with the abandonment of the chorus. And yet
this is the teaching of many ancient authorities, and not a few
modern. Horace heads the list with the verses (JEp. 2, 3, 281) :
svccessit uetus his comoedia, non sine multa
laude; sed in uitium libertas excidil et aim
dignam lege regi ; lex est accepta chorusque
turpiter obticirit sublato hire nocendi.
A poet may be excused an occasional post hoe, ergo propter hoc.
But in this case Horace has misled others on a point of history.
The Vita Aristophanis refers to a yjnftiafia xoprjyi/cbv fir) ovofjiaarl
K(OfJL(phelv, which took away to cutiov KcofKpBtas, to o-accotttcii', result-
ing in the chorusless Cocalus and Plutus. But it also mentions
the default of the choregi, which is more likely to have caused
the curtailment of the chorus in these plays. Euanthius also
knew of a law in Athens ne quisquam in alterum carmen infame
proponeret, but the result was that the poets, not the chorus, " be-
came silent " — which is logical if not true. Perhaps Euanthius
here as often confounded things Roman with Greek, having in
mind the Roman law (Cic. JResp. 4, 10, 12). The scholia to
Aristophanes furnish us with a fragmentary history of the legisla-
tion against scurrility.84 A law was passed under Morychides
** For a full collection of such notices, of which the above are the most important,
see Haupt, de lege quam ad poetas cortdeos pertinuisse ferunt) p. 36 ff. Haupt
shows that license did not cease until Alexander, and then not wholly. I follow
Bergk, Kl. Sch. n, 444 ff. ; cf. Meinekr, C. G. F. i, 84 ff. Lubke'a work on the sub-
ject has not been accessible to me.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 318
440/39) and remained in force three years (Schol. Ach. 67). Its
author may have been the Antimachus whom Aristophanes
taunts in Ach. 1149 (Schol. ad loc.) Pseudo-Xen. Resp. Ath. 2, 18
probably refers to public opinion rather than to legislation. A
certain Syracosius is said to have introduced a measure against
the poets (Schol. Av. 1297). Droysen (JRh. Mm. 4, 59) conjectures
with probability that this was intended only to prevent reference
to the unfortunate affair of the Hermae and the mysteries. Anon.
TT€pl /cap. ix a (Bergk vin) evidently had this law in mind, but he
wrongly assigns its authorship to Alcibiades.
After the fall of the Democracy, says Platonius, ivemirre toi?
ttoititcus <f>6/3o<; • ov yc\p ty rivet irpo<\>avSyi GKoyirreiv, Sue as airavrovv-
ra>v t£>v v/3pi£ofifra)v. Then he tells how Eupolis was drowned
by those against whom he composed the Baptae. The Eupolis
story occurs again and again, with interesting variations (Mein. I,
119 ff.), but it remained for Kanngiesser*5 to elaborate this and
similar stories into a touching chapter on the ill-treatment of the
old comic poets. Now there is no doubt that the poets were
persecuted in the courts by the objects of their satire (Bergk. I. c.
p. 456), but the only known result in the best authenticated case,
the attacks of Cleon on Aristophanes, was not the silencing of
the poet, but a fresh attack in the Kn'ghts.
This is the extent of our positive knowledge of legislation
against the liberty of the poets and of the attempts to intimidate
them. We may judge of the effects in the plays of Aristophanes.
Bergk thought that he detected a comparative mildness of tone
in the plays produced about the time of the Four Hundred and
of the Thirty. But comedy quickly assumed again its old free-
dom as soon as circumstances allowed. It is impossible to believe
that, either in the fifth century or in the fourth, when a milder
spirit prevailed, the existence of the chorus was dependent on the
license to abuse.88 The old authorities themselves furnish us
with a good excuse for incredulity. It is a curious fact that those
K Altkumische Buhnezu Athen% p. 124.
"See Croiset, Hist. Litt. Orec. in, p. 688. I think with Leo (Quaes. Aristoph.,
Bonn, 1873, p. 11 ff.) that the whole story of the restraint of license by law had its
origin in an imaginative interpretation by the grammarians of certain passages in
the comedies themselves, and that such laws as were actually enacted were for the
protection of the higher state officials.
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314 EDWARD CAPPS.
who attribute the disappearance of lampooning to law also record
that at first the poets were compelled by law bvo^aari tcw/upBelv
as a means of checking lawlessness in high places.37
The second reason assigned for the abolition of the chorus must
receive more respectful consideration, inasmuch as it has until
now remained undisputed. The anonymous writers irepl tca>fi<p-
8(a<t have nothing to say about this point. But Platonius, after
the reference to the Eupolis episode, adds: teal iiriXxirov ol
X°pvy°^' ov V&P £™ irpodvfiiav etyop ol 'Adrjvaloc tovs %o/>?/you9 tov?
t&? h(nrdva<i toic %opevTal<; irapeypvra^ xeiporoveip. 8. top yovv
AloXoat/ccova 'ApL<rTO<f>dvr)<; iilSa^ev^ 09 outc €%€i ra yppuch fxeXrj. r<av
yctp x°PTlrY**p Ph XeLP0T0V7lll^u<DV Ka^ ™v X°PeVT**>p °^K *X°'VTOi>v T^
Tpofyhx x/jre^-gpidr) t?Jc KfDfMphias tc\ xopsvrayv peXr) teal twv vwoOeae&v
6 r/xforoc fiere/SXijdr). 9. (tkottov ykp ovto<; tt} apx^^f tCO)flOi>Bia TOV
<T/cd>7TT€ip Sqfiou? teal hocac'Tos koX <TTpi,Tr)yov$i TrapsU 6 ' Apurro(f)dvi)$
to <TWr\6w airoo-icofiylrai Bicb top ttoXvp <f>6/3ov AtoXov to Spdfia to
ypa<f>£p Tofc Tpay<p8ol<; 009 tcatcm fyop Biaavpu. 10. toioOtos ovp iarw
6 tt/c fiear)? KutfAyhias twos, ohk kanv 6 AloXoaiteap ' ApurTO(f>dpovs
xal ol 'OSuaaels Kpartvov teal irXeiaTa t&v iraXaiS>v Bpafidrcop ovre
X^piteh ovre 7rapa/3d<r€i$ €Xovra- Then in § 14 : ret pep y&p fyovTa
7rapa/3dar€i$ tear etcelvov top XP0V0V iBiBdxOf) icaff op 6 Sfjfiw; itcpdreir
rii Se outc ix0VTa t*P l%ovaia<i Xoiirbp airb rov Sqfiov /JisOiaTafi^prjr
teal tt/c dXiyapxto tcparovar)^. Then follows §§ 7-8 again, again
the admission that other such plays as the 'OoWow are to be
found in the old comedy, but under the oligarchy, and again the
notice of the failure of the choregia. To this should be added
§ 10 and the interpolated § 11 of the Vita, which says that the
Cocaltis and Plutus were brought out under similar circumstan-
ces. In both these accounts are elements that arouse suspiciou,
especially the insistence on the fear of the poets and the u choregic
law" against scurrility as helping to bring about the change.
Platonius was an extremely careless compiler, as is shown by
the repetitions.38 He is strangely ignorant of the nature of the
early choregia, supposing that the choregi were elected by the
"Anon, iv, ix a, ix b, Thorn. Mag. (Dub. xv), Cic. Resp. 4. 10, 11, Themis-
TIU8 Or. 8, 110 B.
mFiklitz, I. c, p. 28. Leo, Quaest. Aristoph., shows in detail that the whole*,
article is a curious hodgepodge of several parallel accounts.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 315
people, and that the choreutae could be selected without choregi.
But this is probably blind inference from the reported failure of
choral odes in the plays mentioned. Platonius himself practically
admits this by prefacing his citation of the Aiolosieon by " at any
rate" (yovv). The statement that the parabasis was lacking in the
middle comedy and sometimes in the old is doubtless correct, but
the explanation that it occurred in the latter only under the oligar-
chy is false. Cratinus died about 420, and the three plays cited of
Aristophanes were brought out in the second decade of the next
century, as was also the Ecclesiazusae, which has no parabasis.
We are told that the plays mentioned had ovre x°PLK^ 0VT€ tra-p**
fidcreis. The lack of a parabasis seems to have been the only
ground for this sweeping statement. The 'OSwrcrefo certainly had
a chorus, as we know from the fragments. See Kock, C. G. F., I,
43 and 44, Meineke, fr. v, and Bergk, Commentt. de reliq. comoed.
att> p. 160 IF. Kaibel, Hermes 30, p. 25, makes it exceedingly
probable that it had also a second chorus and a parabasis as well.
The KloXoaU&v had a chorus of women (Kock, ibid. I, comment
on fr. 10, and Meineke n, fr. x, xi, xn). The Ka>*a\o? probably
had at least as important a chorus as the II\o{5to<? (Meineke n, fr.
vi). Thus Platonius is refuted by his own examples. The occasional
omission of the parabasis in the old comedy is significant as show-
ing that its entire abandonment in the middle comedy was due to
purely natural causes. Comedy had outgrown it, along with
certain other crudities and exuberances. Perhaps the cost of the
choregia was thereby lessened somewhat, though we cannot con-
sider this the real cause of the change. The loss of the parabasis
involved no serious change in the structure of comedy, as we see
from the Lysistrata. The omission of the choral odes was a more
serious matter, which could have been caused only by the col-
lapse of the choregia. Now it happens that we have a few ancient
notices to this effect.
A scholiast to Arist. Ran. 404 gives this important informa-
tion : hr\ youv rod KaXklov tovtov* <fyrja)v ' ApurrordXtf^ Sn avvhvo
iSofje xopryyelv rh Aiovwria to£? Tpay<p8oi<s /cal kco/jl^ 8019. This is
verified by an inscription of the early part of the fourth century
(O. I. A. ii, 280), which may refer to either tragedy or comedy,
by another, dating not long after Euclid's archonship, record-
* Probably the archon of 406/6, possibly, however, of 412/11.
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316 EDWARD CAP PS.
ing the joint choregia of two residents of Eleusis at both
tragic and comic contests (Philios, Ath. Mitth., 1894, p. 20)r
and by a third from the middle of this century relating to
comedy alone (Kohler, Ath. Mitth. 7, 348). The next part of
the same scholium rests on the commentator's own authority :
ware ?<ra>? f)v ti? /cal Trepl rbv Ar)vai/c6v aycova avaroXij^ XP°V(? ^
varepov ov 7ro\\q> nvi /cat fcaddira^ irepietXe Kivrjaia*; tA? X°PVy^ '
i% ov St/nztti? iv t£ €& airtov Spd/xari €(f>i) (Tfcrjvr) fiev tov xopotcrdvov
Ktv7]<r(ov. In the first place the scholiast misunderstands the
purpose of the new arrangement mentioned by Aristotle. That
two choregi were to take the place of one in providing for a
chorus indicates a desire not to stint the chorodidascalus (avaroXfj}
but to provide for him as usual, at the same time making the
burden upon each individual choregus lighter. The next state-
ment is false, for we know that both tragic and comic choregiae
continued long after Callias. Schol. Ban. 153, however, also-
accuses this same Cinesias of an attempt against the choregia :
6 Kivrjaias hrpayfiaTevaaTO Karci t&v kco/jukcov ofc elev ajfopr^riTO^
On the strength of this and the notices of Platonius and the Vita
above quoted, even so careful a scholar as A. Miiller (B-A.,p. 342}
concludes that the comic choregia was abolished after the Pelo-
ponnesian War.40 It seems to me, however, that the whole tra-
dition as regards Cinesias admits of a probable explanation.
Cinesias, the dithyrambic poet, was not only repulsive in appear-
ance, vile in his personal habits, and impious, if we may believe
the poet Plato, Aristophanes, Anaxilas, and Lysias, but also a very-
poor poet. Aristophanes constantly ridicules his verses, and
Plato, Gorg. 501 b, condemns them. Plutarch de mus. 30, 1141 r,
after explaining some changes that had taken place in musical
accompaniments, quotes from the Chiron of Pherecrates a com-
plaint of Poetry about certain poets who had introduced disas-
trous innovations. The following is the reference to Cinesias
(Mein. C. G. F. n, p. 327) :
K.WT)<r(a<: Sk 6 /cardparos 'Am/co's,
ifjapfJLovhw; /cafiirfc ttoi&v iv Tafc crrpo^afc,
inroX&Xetcd /* ovto>9, (Sore rry: iroirjaew
r&v 8i0vpdfi/3a>V) /caOdirep iv rats acrrrUnv,
hpurrip avrov fatverai rh Be^id.
*So Brinck, Insc. Oraec. ad choregiam pertin., Halle, 1888, p. 94.
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 817
At the end of the paragraph Plutarch adds : aWoi 8k fcco/up-
Boiroiol ISeigav ri}V aroiriav r&v fiera ravra rrjv /jlovo-uctjv Karatce-
Kepfi'aTLKOTcop. Cinesiaa then, in the opinion of Pherecrates
and Plutarch, cut to pieces and killed dithyrambic poetry. Since
the chorus was itself the dithyramb, Strattis goes no further than
they when he applies to him the epithet xoP0fCT°vos- This sug-
gested to the ancient commentator, who knew the hatred of
Cinesias for his persecutors, the explanation KaOdira^ irepielhe rfc
Xopmto* This, I believe, is the history of the whole tradition.
But we do not lack positive evidence of considerable impor-
tance for the existence of comic chorus after the time of ite re-
ported abolition. Besides the references to it in Aristotle Pol. S,
3, 1276 b, 5, ML Nic. 4, 6, 1123 a, 22, the last paragraph of the
extract irepl /ca>fi<p8{a<; recovered from the wreck of the second part
of the Poetics by Bernays,41 and Theophrastus, Charac. vi, the newly
found yh6r\vaU»v UoTureia gives the authoritative notice (§ 56) : irp6-
repov hk Kal ttcofLcpSols tcadlarri (6 apyatv) 7reVr€, vvv Be TOt/rov? ai <f>v\al
fe'povcriv. As late as 325 b. c, therefore, the comic choregia was
regularly provided for. The first intimation of the decline of the
chorus is given in the fragment of Menander beginning (Sairep r&v
Xop&v ov Trdvres aBovai (Meineke iv, 117). But this may refer to
the dithyrambic chorus. The only choregic inscription from
Athens after this period which mentions a comic contest, (CIA
ii, 1289, Dittenberger, SyUoge, p. 417 — 307/6 b. c.) does not give
evidence one way or another on the chorus.42 But the fact that
outside of Athens43 the comic choregia lingered a long time still
41 Erganzung zu Aristotles Poelik, Rh, Mus. 8, 561 ff., reprinted in Zwei
Abhandlungen uber die aristotelischen Theorie des Drama. See Vahlen's and
Christ's editions of the Poetics.
4,K0hlbr in Ath. Mitth. 3, 287 judged from the fact that the poet and actor,
not the tribe and didascalus, are mentioned in this inscription, that both tragedies
and comedies were given without choruses. Brink, Insc. Qraec. ad choregiam
pertin.y pp. 90, 99, has shown the falsity of this assumption.
48 Aesch. Tim. 157. At Delos both comic and tragic choregiae are recorded down
to the end of the in cent ; Bull. Oorr. Hell. 7, 122 ff. Choruses of citizens were pro-
Tided at Iasos in the n cent (Le Bas, As. Min. 281 ; Luders, Dion. Kunstler p.
181). Cf. the x°pb* roXeirucfo in the late Thespian insc. CIG, 1586. In the inscrip-
tions from Samoa and Teos of the n cent (CJG, 8091; Brink, p. 211, 212; CJG,
8089) the comio choregia is mentioned. Seven comic choreutae are given for each
festival in the Soterio inscription from Delphi from the last part of the in cent C£
Luders, p. 187 ff.; Wkscher and Foucart, Insc. de Delphes i, nos. 8-6;
Dittenbergkr, p. 404. As to the function of the chorus at these later festivals nothing
positive is known.
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818 EDWARD CAPPS.
makes it advisable to adopt a conservative position on the ques-
tion, and to believe that in Athens the comic chorus was re-
tained for some time, in some form, after the beginning of the
third century. This belief finds confirmation in the extant frag-
ments, as we shall see later on.
The existence of the chorus in the middle comedy can there-
fore be no longer called in question. But it may be said that it
was not the same kind of a chorus as that in the old comedy.
Here, also, we should not go further than the known facts
warrant.
Even in the fifth century the choregi were sometimes inclined
to be parsimonious. That this tendency would seriously affect
comedy itself, and not simply hamper the didascalus in his train-
ing of the chorus, cannot be inferred from Arist. Ach. 1155,
where the choregus is attacked for not having furnished a dinner
after the performance, nor from Eupolis fab. inc. vn (Mein. n,
551), where the choregus is called "dirty," and still less from
Arist. Ran. 404 (see schol.) On the other hand, it is rendered
improbable by the fact that the Archon was expressly empowered
to prevent any remissness on the part of the choregi (Xen. Hiercn
9, 4). Still it is quite conceivable that in times of great financial
distress the Archon and the poets would have allowed consider-
able curtailment of expenses. To some such circumstance we
may ascribe the cutting down of the choral parts of the four
plays mentioned in the ancient notices.
The arrangement made under Callias was certainly an attempt
to sustain the chorus in its former prominence in comedy and in
tragedy. This arrangement lasted until after 350. This must
have reduced the burden of the comic choregi to a comparatively
small amount. There is no reason to suppose that citizens be-
came less willing than before to provide the necessary money.
The orators abound in references to the liberality of the choregi.
It is true that the tribes sometimes neglected to appoint choregi
for the cyclic choruses (Dem. Mid. 13). But the case was quite
different in comedy, for which it was the Archon's duty to ap-
point the choregi. Early in the fourth century the number of
comedies for each festival was increased to five. This was due
not only to the lessened expense of the choregia, but also to the
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 319
increasing popularity of comedy.44 When the still farther change
was made— the transfer of the appointing power from the Archon
to the tribes — is not known. But it must have been between the
date of the latest synchoregic inscription (after 350) and the date
of composition of the 'Adyvafav UoXireia (ca. 325).4ft From this
time on neglect on the part of the tribes or illiberality on the
part of the choregi might often result in serious curtailment of
the duties of the chorus. There was no longer the control of the
Archon, but only the spirit of rivalry between the tribes, to main*
tain the chorus in its former splendor. Finally Demetrius of
Phaleron entirely reorganized the choregia, probably in 807,
making the Demos the nominal choregus for all contests, and
laying upon the Agonethet a large part, at any rate, of the ex-
pense of the festival. This would encourage still more the ten-
dency to cut down the expenses of the chorus, and explains the
occasional omission of the dramatic contests which the inscrip-
tions begin to record soon afterwards. The history of the
choregia, therefore, would lead us to believe that the comic
chorus was generally well sustained until after 350; that before
325 it was possibly neglected, and that after 307 it was probably
rapidly reduced in importance until it finally disappeared. No
doubt Philemon, and Menander, who was under the influence of
Aristotle's teaching, resisted the tendency as long as possible.
But the ties of the chorus to comedy were gradually growing
weaker. In the course of the century comedy had had time to
adapt itself to the changing conditions, so that when at last the
chorus was abandoned there was no sudden change in the nature
of comedy itself, such as would have resulted from the loss of the
chorus a century earlier.
It remains to discuss the character of the chorus of the mid-
dle comedy. We are told by Platonius and the Vita that the
Flatus is a representative of the second period. But the diminu-
tion in the importance of its chorus may have been due to peculiar
"Haigh, Alt. Thtat. p. 81, says that it was due to " the disappearance of the
chorus from comedy." But the first known occurrence of the new arrangement
was at the performance of the Plutus, which itself has a not inconsiderable chorus.
46 There is no reason for thinking with Wilamowitz, AristotU und Athtn i,
264, note, that the increase to five and the tribal choregia were parti of the same
•change.
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820 EDWARD CAPPS.
circumstances. Besides, the corrupt state of our manuscripts
makes it impossible to determine how much more prominent the
chorus was in the play as performed in 388 than it is in the
present text. The x°P°v °f ^e MSS. is probably an indication of
the loss of the original odes of an intermezzic character (as so
many of the odes of Aristophanes), rather than the sign of an
intermission.46 But apart from this, the part still left to the
chorus is exceedingly instructive for our present purpose. The
ohoreutae mingle freely with the actors, both in the prologue and
in the exodos, and take a spirited part in the conversation — an ex-
cellent illustration of the point on which I insisted in the chapter
on tragedy, that a chorus whose songs are mere|interludes is likely
to be given a lively part in dialogue and action. Bockh,
Stoats haushalt.y p. 493, says of the Plutus: " So blieb der Chor nun
als handelnde und redende Person stehen." For the stage ques-
tion the " handelnde Person" is all-important.
The comic poets of the fourth century, even the best of them,
were by no means averse to taking a model from the fifth century
and adapting it to the taste of the time. But some of the most
successful plays of the old comedy were so interwoven with
allusions to current events and to contemporary^personalities that
many of the brightest hits would have been lost upon an audience
a decade or two later. We can readily understand why they
were not reproduced in later times. And yet the impression they
made upon the generation that heard them, and the fame of their
success that lingered still in the next succeeding generations, can
be paralleled only by the success and influence of Euripides and
Menander. As the popular demand for the masterpieces of
tragedy resulted in the admission into the programme of the
Dionysia of a iraXaih rpay<p8(a alongside of the Kcuvaty so we might
"So Hitter, de Arisioph. Pluto, Bonn, 1828, p. 11 ff. He accepts the tradition
of the abolition of the choregia, but thinks that the poet or volunteers would have
supplied the necessary money. His opinion on the late chorus is sound : Talem
chorum qualem in Pluto uidemus, in multis turn mediae turn nouae comoediae
fabulis fuisse iudico. Bitter is one of the few who have properly distinguished the
function of the chorus in the stasima from its part in the action. Cf. p. 24.
The Tischendorf fragment of Menander, Kock, C. O. F. hi, no. 580, also bean
the inscription XopoO, thus confirming the statement of the Vita Arisioph., ( 11,
though of course the sign is due to a grammarian, and not to the poet
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 321
reasonably expect to find in the fourth century some echo of the
famous comedies of former times. But no iraXcua Kaptphla appears
in the didascalia of the fourth century, and in the third the play
selected is always by a poet of the new comedy. However, on
this evidence alone, is not the assertion too sweeping that no play
of the old comedy was ever reproduced? Is not the only(jsafe
inference that, so far as we know, no fifth century comedies were
reproduced as inikaiail In order to be presentable at all many
pieces would have had to be entirely revised. Now it was the
custom in Athens for a poet to produce as new, often under a new
title, an old play of his own or of another which he had revised,
no matter how slightly. In fact, in this way alone was he allowed
to bring out an old play, in the fifth century at any rate. It often
happened in the fourth century that a poet revised and repro-
duced under his own name a successful piece of a rival. So
Alexis revised the "Avreia and 'AXehrrpa of Antiphanes and the
'O/io^a of Antidotus, Epicrates the Awm-paro? of Antiphanes,
while both Alexis and Ophilio plundered Eubulus, etc., etc.47
Sometimes the changes were trifling (cf. Ath. 3, 127 B : iv dXlyoi?
<r<f>68pa). Now such a play as the Acharnians would require
a complete rewriting, but this is no reason why it should not
have furnished the ground-plan of a new piece. The Peace,
daudSj and Plutus were much changed in their second editions,
and yet essentially the same. The Frogs would have needed
little editing to make it as fresh as when first reproduced. These
pieces are successfully brought out on the modern stage, with all
their obscure allusions. When, therefore, we find among the titles
of the middle comedy many that are identical with those of the
old comedy, and detect under new names the subjects and treat-
ment of old plays, what supposition is more reasonable than that
we have in them the vestiges of the old comedy, exactly as we
refer a play of Plautus back to the new comedy? This is
hypothesis, but it accounts for the facts better than the other
hypothesis, which leaves a surprising phenomenon unexplained.
It seems to me not too daring, therefore, to suggest, for example,
that the Elprjinj of Eubulus, the 'Imrels of Antiphanes, the TIXovto?
of Nicostratus,* the Aij/jlvuu of Alexis and Antiphanes, bore a close
"Mbinxkx i, 81 f. ; Eaibcl in Hermes 24, 44,
«8o Kock, C. Q. F. ii, 226.
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822 EDWARD CAPPS.
relationship to plays of Aristophanes, and that the Kevravpw; of
Antiphanes was modelled on the "Aypioi of Pherecrates. Prob-"
ably a still commoner form of borrowing was the adaptation to a
new set of characters of an old conception, of which the "I^Am of
Archippus furnishes an excellent example. The Birds of Aris-
tophanes undoubtedly suggested the plot and its treatment A
chorus of fishes replaces that of birds. Remarkable similarities
are pointed out by Kaibel, Hermes 24, 49 ft'. Though in point of
time Archippus belonged rather to the old comedy, yet, as
Meineke says (i, 205), the vI;£0i/e? is entirely in the manner of the
middle comedy. In like manner the Nfjo-oi of Archippus was a
free imitation of the IUXct? of Eupolis, to which the HdXeis of
Alexandridis also probably owed more than its name alone. If
oar fragments were more extensive we should undoubtedly find
confirmation for these conjectures, and many additions to the list
of certain cases.
The middle comedy was much given to parodying the old
tragic poete, especially Euripides. If the spirit of Aristophanes
descended to his successbrs, they did not fail to ridicule the
choruses, as well as the ethics and philosophy of their victims.
That this was in fact the case is shown by the Orestes or the
Orestautocleides of Timocles, a parody probably of the Eumenides of
Aeschylus. In the one fragment still preserved (Meineke in, 608;
Kock n, 462) a chorus of harlots is seen surrounding the new
Orestes : irepl Sk tov iravd0\iop evSowri ypae;, Ndwiov, TI\ayyi»vf
A&ko, /ere. The trial is held in the Uapdfivorov, and the court is
composed of the Eleven. The Bacchae of Antiphanes, probably
after Euripides, would have been tame without a Bacchic chorus,
and a Bacchic chorus could not easily become a mere " umbra
veteris chori." Lastly I may mention the lively chorus in the
Trophanius of Alexis — a play which seems to have been in the
manner of the new comedy. The Boeotians who form the chorus
are expected to vindicate themselves against the charge that they
are good for nothing but to eat and drink, and finally receive the
command : yvfuxnff avrofc Odrrov Hiravrety ut ad saltandum habil-
iores cuadent, as Meineke observes (in, 491). Now since Alexis
was active as a poet from ca. 368 to 286, and belonged almost as
much to the new comedy as to the middle, this chorus from a
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER, GREEK DRAMA. 328
play produced certainly during the la«t half of the fourth century
flhould have no little weight in favor of my contention.
In view of these considerations the opinion of Bern hardy
{Grundr. d. gr. Litt. n, 2, p. 676), that, although more than half of
the poets of the old comedy lived on far into the period of the
middle comedy, yet there was no organic connection between the
middle and the old, seems preposterous, and the claim of Fielita,
that the middle comedy really belonged to the new, is in contra-
diction to both tradition and fact. As to the character of the
chorus in this intermediate period, while I grant that it steadily
diminished in importance, especially as regards its melic func-
tions, and especially toward the end of the fourth century, yet I
trust that I have been able to show that it exhibited external
characteristics that might actually be called Aristophanic. The
scanty remains do not furnish proof of this in abundance, and yet'
one may fairly claim at legist that the chorus ot the middle*
comedy should be taken into consideration in the discussion of
the stage question.
The question of the chorus in reproductions of old tragedies-
does not require a separate discussion, if, as I believe, it held its
place in new tragedies down to a very late period. We know
that almost every one of the extant plays of Euripides were-
brought out at the time of Lucian and Plutarch (Welcker, Qr.>
Trag. 1313 ff., Schultze, N. Jahrb.f. Phil 1887, 117 tf.). And
yet they without exception demand that the chorus should be in
easy and intimate connection with the actors. In the multitude
of references there is only one to warrant the supposition that
they were ever given without their choruses, or so changed that
the chorus could have been separated from the actors by a
Vitruvian stage. This exception is Dio Chrysostom 19, 487 R,
who speaks of the omission of rh irepl rh fie\f). But Welcker has
shown (l. c. p. 1319) that this passage refers only to the tragic reci-
tations at minor festivals. At such a recitation, however, it was
quite as possible that the choral parts should be selected and the
dialogue omitted ; as when the actor Jason and his choreutae per*
formed a part of the Bacchae of Euripides before the Armenian
king after the death of Crassus (Plut. Crassus 32), and when
Satyros of Samos gave at Delphi a Kiddpurpa from the same piece
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324 EDWARD CAPPS.
(BuU. Cor. Hell., 1894, 85, where Couve rightly draws this infer-
ence from the mention of the lyre). Our present texts afford
abundant proof that actors tampered freely with passages
which would cause them trouble to perform, but not a shred of
evidence that it was found necessary to alter the parts of the
chorus. On the other hand, a passage in the Iphigenia at Avlis,
which is generally recognized as interpolated (v. v. 615 ff.), re-
quires the intermingling of the chorus with the actors. Christ
(JSitzungsber. d. bayr. Akad. 1894, p. 17) calls for proof that the
Orestes, for example, was ever reproduced after the fourth century.
But this very play furnishes the clearest example of an actor's
interpolation (1366-8, schol.) which was surely made a long time
after the law of Lycurgus for protecting the text of the dramatists
was passed. The Roman tragedy also gives evidence that the
chorus in the Greek still remained. This applies, of course, to
the production of tragedies in the city theatres at important festi-
vals. The evidence of inscriptions weighs more and more in
favor of this view. One cannot emphasize too strongly the fact
that in Rhodes in the first century before Christ a complete
tetralogy of Sophocles* satyr-drama and all, was reproduced. Nor
is there any reason for believing that this was an exceptional
occurrence. Finally it should be mentioned that the late writers
on music were still familiar with the choral parts of classical
tragedy, evidently from the theatre (Wilamowitz, Herakles I,
181, note 18).
In conclusion I may summarize my argument as follows : The
theory that at the end of the fourth century the actors were ele-
vated from their former position to a stage ten to twelve feet high
is untenable, because (1) the chorus in tragedy, though perhaps
less correctly handled by the later poets as regards its connection
with the plot, was still regularly brought into close contact with
the actors down to at least the end of the Roman republic ; (2)
the satyr-drama with its chorus flourished still in Roman times ;
(3) the chorus in comedy continued into the third century, mean-
while retaining its connection with the action; (4) the intimate
relation of the chorus to the action in the old tragedies of the
fifth century was not changed in later reproductions. The con-
tinuance for the longest time of the external functions of the
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THE CHORUS IN THE LATER GREEK DRAMA. 825
chorus was perfectly natural. The principal cost of the old
chorus was in the training for the orchestic and melic parts. The
least expensive and the most practically dramatic function was
the last to be given up. The erection of the low stage of Nero
in the theatre at Athens was the first outward sign of the diminu-
tion of the chorus in one of its functions. From that time on it
took its position on the stage as in the Roman theatre. TTp to
that time it had occupied the level of the orchestra withjthe actors.
Edward Capps.
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PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OP CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ATHENS.
A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA.
[Plate xviii.]
In the excavations at Eretria last spring we had the good for-
tune to uncover the foundations of a temple, the existence of
which was not then known to archaeologists. On the very first
day of our work, led by some hewn stones protruding from the
bushes, we came upon a broad platform, and so shallow was the
earth over it — from one to two feet — that by the evening of the
third day we had it entirely laid bare. At the end of a week we
had dug all around it a trench about three feet wide, down to the
bottom of the foundation, and had cleared out the main opening
in the platform. This platform shape made us doubtful about
the nature of the building which stood on such a foundation. It
did not seem to conform to the usual shape of temple founda-
tions. Botticher and Michaelis,1 to be sure, speak as if the foun-
dations of temples were usually solid platforms. But existing
remains show simply lines of foundation-walls under the support-
ing members, the colonnade and the cella walls. So the sub-
structure of the Parthenon is represented in the cut accompany-
ing an article by Dr. Dorpfeld in the Mittfteihmgen des deutschen
archaeologischen Institute, 1892, p. 177.
Again, the great breadth of the platform in proportion to its
length (12.50 m. X 23.05 m.) was a stumbling block. But we
reflected that after all what we had discovered was not a stylobate,
but that above this must have lain at least two, and perhaps three,
courses, to form the steps of the temple, besides the usual
exUhynteria. Subtracting one meter all around, L e.y reducing
1BOtticher, Akropolis wm A then, p. 66. Michaelis, Der Parthenon, p. 5.
326
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 327
the length two meters and the breadth two meters, would give
as result a breadth less than one-half the length, instead of more
than half, which would not be very abnormal for a temple. In
the reconstruction of the temple in the plan (Plate xviii) by W.
Wilberg, .35 m. is allowed as the width of each step, which, even
with a slight allowance for the euthynteria,, would leave a breadth
of somewhat more than half the length. The ratio of breadth to
length of the stereobate, as it stands, is about the same as in the
temple of Asclepius at Epidaurus. This, with dimensions 13.20 m.
X 24.50 m., affords a ratio of .5388, while the Eretria stereo-
bate affords a ratio of .5423, being slightly broader. The two
temples were of very nearly the same size, and not very much smal-
ler than the Theseium or the Athene temple at Aegina. In the
plan the temple is restored like the Asclepius temple,2 with six
columns at the ends and eleven at the sides, and an allowance of
2.05 m. as intercolumnar space. Both these temples lack the
opisthodomos, which may account for their shortness.
Similar in proportions were the Metroiim at Olympia, the
temple of Athene at Priene, and the temple discovered by Dr.
Dorpfeld at Lepreon in April, 1891.3 These proportions seem to
have been usual in the fourth century. The Heraeum at Argos,
though falling in the latter part of the fifth century, approaches
these proportions with a ratio of breadth to length of .5008,4
while the Theseium stereobate has a breadth considerably less
than half the length.
The great breadth of the foundation at the sides of the cella,
which gives the appearance of a platform to the foundation, ia
explained by the consideration that the cella wall comes so near
to the colonnade that it was easier to make a common foundation
somewhat broader than usual, than to make two separate founda-
tions. This arrangement, however, is believed to be unique in
existing remains.
The other two openings in the platform are so situated as to
conform to the position between the colonnade and the pronaos
and to the pronaos itself, which is a strong confirmation of the
1 Kabbadias, Lea Fouilles d'Epidaure, Plate vi.
*Mitt. d. deuUch. arch. Inst, Athen, 1891, p. 259.
4 Am. Jour, of Arch., yiii, p. 216.
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328 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
view that we have here the foundations of a temple. The foun-
dation is a massive one, composed of three courses of limestone
blocks from the acropolis near at hand. Each course is .46 m.
thick, making a total depth of 1.38 m. The blocks are not
arranged in any order of " stretcher and binder," but are large
pieces of very various lengths and breadths, carefully fitted with-
out clamps. Not a single stone of any of these courses is dis-
placed, whereas only a few stones of another course remain over
the opening in the pranaos. These latter may be classified as
breccia ; but the only difference between them and the limestone
blocks is that they hold more pebbles, and are thus of a firmer
texture. Both come from the acropolis.
Close to the northwest corner of the temple, diverging from it
as it proceeds southward, about three feet below the surface of
the platform, was a water conduit of round tiles, about six inches
in diameter. We traced this far enough back to the north of the
temple to conclude that it comes down from the valley between
the acropolis and the hills to the west of it Another branch of
the same conduit appeared near the northeast corner of the temple,
but at the level of the platform. A shaft was discovered close to
the temple, on the south side at the east end (A), not squared
with the temple, the side most nearly parallel to its south side
diverging from it at an angle of about 25°. The sides of the shaft
are made of careftilly hewn stones in six courses, each .50 m. thick.
The two lowest courses are lacking on the side away from the
temple, to give place to a lateral passage about 1.30 m. high, not
faced with stone, but arched out of the compact earth, and now
partly filled with accumulated soil. This we slowly cleared out
to a distance of about sixteen meters. It took a southwesterly
direction from the south face of the temple, curving slightly to
the right. To get a vent-hole for the one man who worked in
the passage we dug a shaft 8.7 m. out from the temple, and struck
at the same time the passage and a flight of six steps leading up
over it toward the temple. These steps seem to mark on the
south side the peribolos of the temple, which on the west side
must have come very near to the city wall, while on the north side
the precinct was bounded, in part at least, by a long line of
choregic monuments. It was impracticable for us to lay bare the
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 329
peribohs wall on the southern side, as it ran under our dump
heap, which had become rather large.
The object of the shaft and the passage gave rise to lively dis-
cussion among the workmen and the inhabitants of Eretria gener-
ally. As there were carefully cut foot-holes along two sides of
the shaft, the prevailing opinion was that it led to a subterranean
treasury, and every man wanted to work in the passage. The
flkull of a cow or an ox found at the bottom of the shaft sug-
gested to us at first the idea of a sacrificial pit; but the sacrifices
were doubtless performed at the altar in front of the temple. The
most probable explanation is that we have here a conduit to carry
oflfthe rain water from the temple. The significance of the foot-
holes is, however, in that case not quite clear.
To the east of the temple, and adjacent to it, are two statue
bases (C, C), and at a distance of 13.65 m. a foundation (B)
which was a puzzle to the American excavators of 1891, and was
At that time considerably pulled to pieces in the attempt to ascer-
tain whether it was a tomb or the foundation of a building.
This now, from its connection with the temple, appears to be an
altar. It is not in the axis of the temple ; but this is not surpris-
ing. The altar of Athene on the Acropolis and that of Dionysus
near the Athenian theatre were far from being in the axes of their
respective temples, though not so far from it as the altar of Zeus
At Olympia, while the altar before the Pythion at Icaria was so
nearly in the axis of the temple that the deviation seems designed
as here.
All around our temple and over the main opening was a layer
of limestone almost as hard as the blocks themselves, which were
rather friable. Its lower surface was about six inches above the
level of the stereobate. It varied in thickness from about a foot
to three or four inches, being thickest on the north side. It was
also thick on the east side, where it grew gradually thinner as it
receded from the temple, but continued all the way to the altar.
On the north side we traced it back about twenty feet. At first
we thought it the stone of the building crumbled in a great con-
flagration which obliterated all the architectural members, like
the columns and entablature. We were led to this belief by the
striking amount of charcoal which we found in various places,
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330 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
but especially in the large opening. Often a large lump of char-
coal was held in the mass of stone, and in the big opening it wa»
found with bits of bronze clear down to the bottom of the walls-
But since the charcoal could not get below the stone pavement of
the cella in a fire which destroyed the temple, this charcoal must
have come from an earlier fire, possibly from the one which fol-
lowed the capture of Eretria by the Persians.
The view of Dr. Dorpfeld is probably correct, that the layer
was made up of stone-cutters' chips, solidified perhaps on the-
north and east sides, where there would be much passing, with
the aid of cement. The disappearance of the columns and entabla-
ture, and of the upper layers of the platform is easily enough
accounted for without calling in the assistance of a catastrophe.
They lay on the surface, inviting plunder. Especially if these
were marble columns, they would speedily find their way to lime
kilns, such as yawn now near the theatre. If the Eretria of the
present day were a place where there Was much building going
on, it would take vigilant supervision to prevent the foundations
which we here found, poor material as they are, from being
carried off piecemeal. Since I made the acquaintance of Eretria,
in 1891, a considerable part of the acropolis wall, with one ven-
erable looking tower,6 has gone into the lime kiln.
We have made a substantial contribution to the topography of
Eretria. The future traveller, instead of speaking of " Eretria
with its theatre," must speak of " Eretria with its theatre and
temple." In the case of such an important city, and one whose
history interests us deeply, while no ancient writer has given us
any description of it, this is more of an addition to our arch«CK
logical knowledge than the discovery of a whole town in Mace-
donia or Cappadocia.
The first question suggested by a survey of these foundations i»
whether they can be identified with those of any other temples
known to have existed in Eretria. We naturally wish to give the
foundling a name. Here we feel the lack of Pausanias, by whom
excavators elsewhere have profited so much. We must guess.
In going to Eretria my one specific and outspoken object was
to find a temple of Dionysus behind the stage building of the
•It is the one which appears in the Am. Jour, of Arch., Vol. vii, Plate xvi.
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 331
theatre. We found a temple there, but are not disposed to count
this as settling the case. What we wanted and did not get was
proofe in the shape of inscriptions.
But it will be readily granted that when a temple and altar and
theatre seem to make one complex, the presumption is that the
temple and theatre belong together (the northeast corner of the
temple is only 19 m. from the southwest corner of the stage
building). Also it will be granted that if Dionysus was wor-
shipped at all in Eretria, the theatre probably belonged to him.
That Dionysus was worshipped in Eretria, and had a temple there,
is certified by inscriptions. ClG.y No. 2144, speaks of the
lepevs tov Atovvaov, irofiirtf tov Alovvgov, and %6poi tov Atovvaov.
Another inscription, in honor of Theopompos, given in Rhangab6,
Ant. HeU. n, p. 266 ff., also speaks of the wofiwif tov Aiovvcov.
These inscriptions are generally thought to belong to the Mace-
donian or Roman period. But the tto/att^ is thought of as some-
thing existing, and not then first introduced. Rhangabe hesi-
tates to put the latter inscription into Roman times, and inclines,
in spite of the late appearance of some of the letters, to put it
back of the Macedonian supremacy. It indicates a time of free-
dom and prosperity. Eretria votes to erect statues to one of her
own citizens, who has presented the city with a fund of 40,000
drachmas, to buy oil for the athletes in the gymnasium. Per-
haps the time between the Peloponnesian War and the battle of
Chaeroneia, when her coffers were no longer drained by Athens
for the adornment of the Acropolis, was the really wealthy period
of Eretria. It is not unlikely that the theatre in its second period,
L €., substantially in the form in which it haa come down to us,
and the temple, which seems to go with it, were built at this time.
But just where we get our explicit information of a temple of
Dionysus our difficulty begins. The first of the inscriptions re-
ferred to comes from Cyriac of Ancona, who says that he saw it
on a large and finely wrought piece of marble in a vineyard,
where there was to be seen a temple of Dionysus fallen into decay
from age/ Can we believe that Cyriac, nearly five hundred years
ago, saw our temple before it had disappeared from the face of
9 In agro vineorum, ubi UmpUtm Bacchi coUaptum vetere contpicitur, in ma§no
et omatissimo marmore. Bobckh, under CIO. 2144.
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332 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
the earth ? One would like to believe it As far as the vineyard
is concerned, we could believe that where only bushes now abound
there were once flourishing vines. A bean field came nearly up
to the edge of the theatre at the time of our excavations. But
unfortunately for this view Cyriac gives another Eretrian inscrip-
tion which he says he found in summa arce, apud amphitheatrum*.
Here he must mean the theatre, which, after the destruction of
the city, must always have been the conspicuous object amid
the remains. And if Cyriac located one inscription by its nearness-
to the theatre he would almost surely have noted the other by the
same method ; and if he located the acropolis itself by its nearness-
to the theatre, much more would he have noted the nearness of
the temple to the theatre, if he meant our temple. In orderT
then, to save our temple for Dionysus, we must proceed on what
is perhaps not a very violent supposition, viz.y that Cyriac saw the
inscription in question near a temple somewhere in the fields,
and as the inscription began 6 Uptvs rov Aiovvcrov, and treated of
a Dionysiac festival, jumped to the conclusion that the temple
was a temple of Dionysus. The stone, however, may have beem
carried some distance. The epithet "magno" is not to be
pressed. It was probably a stele with mouldings and perhaps
figures as a heading. The long Chaerephones inscription, Eph.
Arch. b'. p. 317 ft, which was set up in Eretria in the temple of
Apollo, was found in Chalcis.
The suggestion of two Dionysus temples is open to more serious
objection. Eretria probably did not have such a profusion ot
temples, as Argos did for example, that several could belong to
one divinity.7
The possibility that our temple does not belong to Dionysus
must be conceded. The proximity to the theatre is not absolute
proof. Indeed, it can hardly be taken for granted that every
theatre is a theatre of Dionysus. This would hardly pass with-
out question for the theatres of Epidaurus, Delphi and Dodona,
We must then consider the claims of other candidates.
There is no divinity so prominent in connection with Eretria
T Another inscription, published by F. Lenormant in Rhein. Mus. xxi, p. 688,
mentions 6 icpcto reO Atorfrov. He gives as the place of finding simply " Eretriae, i»
marmore mutilo."
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 33&
ae Artemis. She was a great divinity in Euboea generally, as ia
shown by coins. Her temple at the northern end of the island, it
will be remembered, gave the name to the first great naval battle
of the Persian War. Her Eretrian temple was the place where
important inscriptions are to be set up, e. g., that one on which
the Eretrians tell of their greatness and their numbers,8 and the
stone on which the compact in regard to the Lelantine War waa
inscribed.9 Here also, was to be deposited the Theophrastua
inscription.10 It was not merely the principal temple of Eretria*
It was, according to Livy (xxxv, 38), a rendezvous for the inhab-
itants of Carystus also. Probably it was the important temple of
Euboea, which delighted to honor the Delphic trinity — Apollo,
Artemis and Leto — with a preference for putting the virgin god-
dess at the head of the list.11 It is the only temple of Eretria
mentioned by Strabo, and is frequently mentioned in inscriptions.
But this temple, called the temple of Artemis Amarysia, ia
thought to have been not in Eretria itself, but seven stadia out-
side of it, at a village called Amarynthos.1* Strabo, to be sure,
does not say that the temple was in Amarynthos.w Artemia
might have been named Amarysia while worshipped in Eretria,
just as naturally as she was so called when worshipped at Ath-
monon in Attica, where she has left a trace of herself in the
modern name Marousi.14
The inscription GIG. 2144b, in honor of Phanokles, found
within the city limits, speaks of Artemis without the epithet
Amarysia, and inasmuch as the inscription provides that the stele
on which it is inscribed shall be set up in the temple of Artemis,
Boeckh supposes that there was a second temple of Artemis
within the city also. This is of course possible. But the temp-
tation would lie near to seek in our temple, which was in a con-
•Strabo, p. 448. 'Ibid.
"Rhangabe, Ant Hell, n, p. 266 ff., No. 689.
11 Ulrichs, Reisen, n, p. 249. Rhaxgabe, Ant. Hell, n, p. 782, No. 1282;
Bursiax, Geog. Griech. n, p. 428. Eph. Arch. 1892, pp. 141, 154bis, 158.
"Strabo, p. 448.
u wo/uHj in Strabo, p. 448, does not necessarily imply a march out from the city1
any more than the mytin} of Dionysus, above referred to, or the wo/at^ at the Pana*
thenaea. The Eleusinian wo/uHj must not prejudice us.
14 Paus. i, 81, 5. Lolling in Mitt d. deutsch. arch. Inst, Athen. 1880, p. 289*
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334 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
spicuous part of the city, near the theatre, the foot of the acropolis,
and the gate leading out to Cbalcis, the one temple of Artemis
Amarysia, were it not for the inscription published in the Eph.
Arch. B', p. 381, No. 417 (Cauer, Delectus, No. 533), which pre-
scribes that the Eretrian copy of the treaty between Eretria and
Histieea shall be set up in Amarynthos (ApapvvffoT). ' This makes
it as good as certain that the temple of Artemis Amarysia, else-
where mentioned as the place for depositing important inscrip-
tions, is here intended, and so was not in Eretria itself. As our
temple is not likely to have been the temple of Artemis, how
gladly would we believe that the temple among the vines, which
Cyriac saw and took to be the temple of Dionysus, was really the
temple of Artemis Amarysia. We could make ample amends to
Dionysus by giving him the temple which we have just discovered.
But so long as a shade of doubt remains concerning the pro-
prietorship of Dionysus, we may mention another candidate. A
temple of Apollo Daphnephoros is mentioned in the Chaerephones
inscription15 as a place for setting up the stele, and since this
temple is named in line 10 as the place where the Eretrian citi-
zens are to take the oath, it is perhaps fair to presume that it was
in the city and accessible. One inscription M containing a speci-
fication that it be set up in the temple of Apollo Daphnephoros
was found in Eretria itself, and so corroborates this view.
At last we have a candidate against whom it cannot be alleged
that he was an outsider. But it must be confessed that there is
no positive proof. The same may be said of the claims of
Demeter, who appears to have been worshipped at Eretria, if we
may judge from a reference to the Thesmophoria in Plutarch,
Quaestiones Graecae, 31, where the question is propounded :
" Why do the Eretrian women roast their meat, at the Thesmo-
phoria, not at the fire but in the sun?"
What other temples the Eretrians had which are not mentioned
by authors or inscriptions which have come down to us we cannot
tell. On this consideration there might be many candidates, but
we come back in the end to our first suggestion, viz., that a
>» Eph. Arch. B', p. 817, No. 404a.
u Eph. Arch. B/, p. 884, No. 418. This temple is also mentioned in inscriptions
published in the Eph. Arch. 1892, pp. 128, 184. Cf. also Plut. Pyth. Orac. 16.
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 335
temple so closely connected with the theatre was in all probabil-
ity a temple of Dionysus, and if it be deemed rash to set aside
the testimony of Cyriac of Ancona, we might postulate a second
temple of Dionysus with almost as much show of reason as
Boeckh had for postulating a second temple of Artemis.
In the excavations about the temple we found very little pot-
tery. One piece of a lekythos, however, with black figures on a
white ground, seems to indicate a date before the Persian Wars.17
In contrast to this is a small marble head found under the layer
of poros covering the main opening in the temple. This cannot
well be earlier than the fourth century. If it be a divinity it is
most likely an Aphrodite.
In the dump heap we found a torso of a terra-cotta siren or
harpy, apparently a rattle for a child. It was covered with a
coating of stucco, and was probably painted. This might belong
to almost any age.
Of the close connection between the altar and the theatre,
which may help to afford an explanation of the enigmatical pas-
sage under the stage building, Professor Capps will treat in his
article on the theatre.
Near the line of bases extending westward from the theatre
{D D D D) were found four fragments of inscriptions, no one of
which affords a whole name. But what is more important, one
affords 0HKE and another HYAEI. This makes it certain that
the bases belong to choregic monuments, like those at Athens,18
and that this theatre was the scene of musical or dramatic con-
tests. The inscription containing rjv'Xei, and probably all the
others, is from the fourth century.
EXCURSUS ON THE LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AMARYSIA.
Since the location of the temple of Artemis Amarysia is the
burning question of Eretrian topography, and since we made the
17 E. A. Gardner in Jour, of Hell. Studies, 1894, p. 180 ff. Unfortunately the
•exact place of finding was not noted. But we have at least an additional token that
the pre-Persian Eretria was on the same spot as the later city. Cf. Am. Jour, or
Arch, vii, p. 241.
18 Rkisch, De Musicis ceriaminibus, p. 84 ff. Harrison, Mythology and Monu-
ments of Athena, p. 268 f. The bases and architectural fragments Professor Capps
will describe.
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336 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
only excavation* yet made with a view of ascertaining its location r
it may seem proper to add a few words on this subject.
Strabo's seven stadia have been measured by different writers in
nearly all the different directions from Eretria except out into the
deep sea; and Stephanus of Byzantium, who says Amarynthos=
pfjaos, seems to invite us to that saltum mortalem. Under such
circumstances it is not a little tantalizing to hear Wilamowitz.
say : " Mochte bei der Artemis von Amarynthos rechtbald
gegraben werden";19 and again: " An diesem Orte waren Aus-
grabungen recht sehr am Platze."20 Yes, if we only knew where
the place was.
Considering that Eretria's territory opens out toward the east
rather than the west, we chose that direction, taking also into
account Lolling's suggestion21 of a possible identification of
Amarynthos with a supposed Old Eretria, which, according to
Strabo,22 lay to the east of the later city.
It was the village of Amarynthos, and not the temple, which
Strabo23 gives as seven stadia distant from Eretria; consequently
we need not be exact about the distance of the spot selected for
excavation. The hill called Kotroni lies not much in excess of
seven stadia to the east, perhaps not at all if the measurement be
made in a straight line across to the hills from the northeast
corner of the acropolis wall. Kotroni, too, is as much of a vrjao?
as that which figures in Herodotus' description of the battle of
Plataea — as much of a vfj<ro<; as one would be likely to find on
dry land.24
At the southern foot of this hill lies one roofless church, which
the owner of the land here says he built several years ago to take
the place of an older one near by, fallen to ruin from age. From
the ground on which the older church stood he had taken several
inscribed marbles which he frankly confesses he had committed
to the lime-kiln to make mortar for his house building. One of
these, a stele, he had built into his house. It showed the initial
letters of two names, M and A. He assured me that the inscrip-
M Hermes, xxi, p. 97.
™Antigono8 von Karystos, p. 136.
21 Mitt des dcutsch. arch. Inst, Athen. x (1885), p. 364.
» Strabo, p. 403. **Ibid, p. 448. "Hdt. ix, 61#
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A TEMPLE IN ERETRIA. 337
tion ran Mijvios ActyviBos. This account looked hopeful ; but two
days' digging of trenches on this spot revealed the bed-rock at a
very slight depth, while nothing but modern walls appeared. We
found two inscriptions, almost at the beginning of our work, on
plain stelae. These were simply the names
IPPOKAEIA
and KAEITOI
"We also noticed built into a wine-vat, and taken from the same
spot where we dug, another epitaph running
TAPAMONOI
PY<t>QNO—
Could this be a stone-cutters' error for HvOcovos ?
Of course the temple may still lie within a hundred yards of
the spot on which we dug, but we have done ample justice to our
main reason for selecting this spot, viz., the testimony of the
land owner.
One may perhaps now all the more readily lend an ear to those
who strongly suspect that Strabo has erred or been made to err
by bad copying, and so seek the temple much farther away.25
Not until excavations have been undertaken at every promis-
ing point near Bathya, and at reasonable distances in the other
direction, toward Chalcis, should we despair of locating the temple.
Athens, Rufus B. Richardson.
March, 1895.
^Ulrichs (Reisen, n, p. 249) is inclined to seek it at Batbya, two hours to the
east of Eretria. Inscriptions point to something like this. Cf. Eph. Arch. A', p.
1886, No. 8524. An old church near Bathya is mentioned as the place of finding.
What is more to the point, the fragment of the Eretria-Histiaea treaty, above re-
ferred to, was said by an informant, whom Eustratiades (Eph. Arch. B', p. 882) re-
garded as more trustworthy than the setter of the stone, to have come not from a
place near Orcos, but from Bathya.
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PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ATHENS.
EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERETRIAN THEATRE IN 1894.
[Plate xix.]
The work of excavation in and about the theatre at Eretria
during the month of May, 1894, was entrusted by the Director,
Professor Richardson, to Professor Phillips and myself. While
the former was engaged in uncovering the temple, the workmen
under my direction cleared away the earth from about the stone
structure to the southwest of the scena-building (B), and sank
trial trenches immediately behind the scena. The stone structure
proved to be an altar. No indications were found that a stoa or
other accessory buildings had ever existed in this part of the
Dionysus precinct. During the second week our workmen were
all employed on the temple. Then a trench was sunk from the
northeast corner of the temple in the direction of the theatre.
Foundation walls were found, which were recognized at once as
belonging to the west wing of the scena, restored conjecturally in
Mr. Possum's plan (Am. Jour. Arch, vii (1891), Plate xi).
Much encouraged by this discovery, we employed from this time
on as many men as could work to advantage in the narrow space
south of the ruins of the cavea and west of the scena. The found-
ations lay so near the surface and progress was so rapid that we
reached the west parodos several days before the close of the cam-
paign. Unfortunately the point about which the greatest interest
centered, the parodos itself, was so deeply buried under the mass
of heavy stones and earth that had fallen at the collapse of the
sustaining wall of the cavea, that only a beginning was made of
a work of which the completion might prove of considerable im-
portance for the understanding of this interesting theatre.
338
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EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERETRIAN THEATRE. 339
The west wing of the scena (Plate xix). The ground plan of
the west wing of the scena has been completely recovered. That
of the east wing may now be safely restored in its general out-
lines to correspond, since the dimensions of length and depth are
the same. The rear wall of the west wing extends 10.50 m. from
the point where it leaves the outer wall of the main building, then
bends to meet the wall of the parodos, making an obtuse angle at
the southwest corner. The foundation course alone remains, laid
almost on the surface and carelessly put together of irregular
stones of different material. Judging from the inferior workman-
ship, this wing must be of very late construction. As the wall
approaches the parodos, the foundations go deeper, are heavier
and more carefully fitted. The depth at the entrance to the
parodos is 1.68 m. The front wall of the west wing is formed by
a continuation of the scaenaefrons, which runs parallel to the wall
of the parodos.
In the irregular quadrilateral space enclosed by the walls just
described are various remains. One meter from the main build-
ing is a short fragment of a transverse wall, and 2 m. further
another, of which 1.70 m. are preserved. Then comes a circular
structure (marked E in the plan) 3.38 m. in diameter, which breaks
into the boundary wall at this point. Of this two courses remain;
the lower, formed of small stones closely laid in a circle, and above
it a course of poros cut to a circle on the outside and forming
a regular hexagon within. This probably served as a foundation
for a circular building of some sort, possibly a choregic monu-
ment. There is no evidence of its use as a cistern, such as have
been found in several theatres in connection with the scena build-
ing.1 A little further to the west is a base 1.97 m. square (F in
plan), formed of four slabs of black marble neatly dressed and
joined with Z clamps. The orientation of this base, which forms
an angle with both of the adjacent boundary walls, but is in align-
ment with the stylobate which extends to the westward, prompts
the suggestion that this wing was open on the south and west, at
least that part of it which lies beyond the second transverse wall.
In this case it was rather a portico than an enclosed room. The
1Muller, BuhnenalUrthumer, p. 38, n. 2; Papers of the American School
(1886-90), p. 14.
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340 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
shallow and weak foundations lend further probability to this
suggestion. If this is true, the large base supported the first
and most imposing of the long series of monuments described
in the next paragraph. Lastly, in this wing lies the peculiar
structure found in 1891, considerably below the level of the
other remains. Its purpose is still unexplained. The hy-
pothesis advanced by Mr. Fossum (L c. p. 253), that " here may
have been ramps ascending to the proscenium, side by side with
the parodos into the orchestra, as at Sicyon and Epidaurus,"
must be rejected. In the first place the parallel walls are too
•close together (width 0.46 m.) Besides, the conditions at Eretria
are entirely different from those at Epidaurus and at Sicyon. The
level of the scena (or proscenium) is reached from the outside
without the need of ramps or steps. Ramps were necessary only
when the scena or proscenium was elevated above the surround-
ing ground.
The stylobate. Westward from the southwest corner of the
west wing extends in an oblique direction a stylobate of poros
20 m. long and 1.20 m. wide. Standing upon this foundation at
irregular intervals were found four marble bases of various size
and workmanship (I) D I)). That these bases were for the support
of columns is shown by the fact that all but one have circular sink-
ings in the centre, from one of which a fragment of an unfluted
column still projects. Xo two of these bases are alike. Three
others lie beyond the stylobate, resting on the earth, but in situ,
forming a line that curves gradually to the north as if to encircle
the cavea. Still another was found north of the stylobate, but it
probably rested upon it originally. The last of the series is also
the largest, 1.28 m. square at the bottom, continuing, after an
inset, .91 m. square. Some of the other bases may also have
borne square pillars. It is clear that here was no stoa, which we
had expected to find, but a series of commemorative monuments
and avadrjiMLTa belonging to the theatre precinct. Fragments of
choregic inscriptions found here place this beyond doubt. Many
fragments of unfluted monolithic marble columns were found be-
tween the stylobate and the theatre, but they varied in size and
could not have belonged to a colonnade. A very large shaft of
this kind was found lying in such a position as to suggest that it
had fallen from the cavea. It may have belonged to the doorway
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EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERETRIAN THEATRE. 341
of the upper entrance to the auditorium, set in the ai/aXi^a. A
number of copper coins, fragments of capitals, mouldings, and
architectural terracotta fragments were also found here.
The ir dp oh 01. The wall of the west parodos was uncovered ,
but not the parodos itself. The wall is not so well preserved as
that of the east parodos, which was excavated in the spring of
1892. Hence it will be necessary to mention the most interesting
characteristics of the latter in order to illustrate and explain the
former.
The east parodos is 4.80 m. wide at the end next to the orches-
tra. The parodos wall was of marble slabs, neatly dressed and
joined, resting on a foundation of poros. The marble blocks are
in position only toward the outer entrance. The poros found-
ations are laid on an incline, as is the avdXrf/jL/xa opposite. Three
meters from the entrance a marble sill 1.25 m. wide is still in
position. It is dressed only on the upper edge, the rest having
been covered by the earth of the floor of the parodos. The floor
level at the sill is 1.25 m. above the orchestra. From the sill to
the entrance the former earth-line may be distinctly traced on the
marble, which is dressed only above this line. This rough line
slopes upward from the sill to the cross-wall against which the
parodos- wall abuts, just reaching the level of the flat foundation
stone of the former. This stone projects a little into the parodos,
and shows a rough end, as if it had been broken off. It may
have been a sill which lay at the entrance of the parodos. At
any rate the original floor of the parodos at this point reached the
level of thiis stone, which is 1.70 m. above the orchestra — a very
considerable incline in a parodos 15 m. long. The original level
of the ground east of the theatre cannot be ascertained, but it was
probably not much higher than this.
The west parodos exhibits the same general characteristics.
The poros foundation is preserved and several meters of the mar-
ble front. The foundation is not continuous, however, but stops
5.65 m. from the entrance, continuing .80 m. higher up. No sill
was found in this wall, but it undoubtedly existed where this
break occurs. From this point on, the slanting rough line on
the marble is as distinctly marked as on the other side. Where
it ends, the foundation stone of the cross-wall extended some .60 m.
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342
PAPER8 OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
into the parodos, but was cut away by the workmen, who thought
it to be the layer of hard lime encountered around the temple.
The level of the parodos floor at the entrance was 1.81 m. above
the orchestra — a little higher than in the east parodos. The level
of the ground outside is given by the stylobate — about 3.45 m.
above the orchestra. If the same grade was continued, the paro-
dos reached the outer level about half way down the stylobate.
No traces of a door at the entrance to the parodos were found.
In the accompanying plans (Fig. 38) I have indicated the earth-line
on the face of the wall, the sills in the wall itself, and the inclina-
tion of the parodoi from the bend beyond the proscenium.
KflUW BMMgPQg
-J.
# « t
t* JW. If
_J ■ I
***>vm
Fia. 88.— The East and West Parodoi.
These sloping parodoi confirm the explanation given by Mr.
Possum and Dr. Dorpfeld of the peculiar construction of this
theatre. At the time of the old scena (fifth or fourth century)
the spectators sat or stood on the almost level ground to the
north. When the theatre was rebuilt the scena was left standing
but enlarged, and the orchestra was hollowed out, furnishing the
earth for the mound of the auditorium. The only alternative waa
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EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERETRIAN THEATRE. 34$
to haul the necessary earth from a distance, as at Mantinea, or to
construct the auditorium of solid masonry. The existence of the
temple near by precluded the removal of the theatre to the slope
of the acropolis. The result was not only the sloping parodoi,
but the elevation of the scena-building 3.46 m. above the orches-
tra. This would have been avoided only by the excavation to the
same depth of the ground under the ecena-building, which would
have been costly and in many ways inconvenient. The result of
this peculiar construction was that the chorus had to make a
descent from their dressing-rooms before they could appear in
the orchestra. What means were provided for this descent ?
Means of communication between scena and orchestra. After the
excavations of the first season the only connection that appeared
between the dressing-rooms and the orchestra was the large
vaulted passage under the scena. It was quite natural that thi&
peculiar arrangement should be explained by the necessity of a
means of communication between the upper and lower levels.
Mr. Fossum, it is true, claimed that this was the simplest solution
of the problem, the only other alternative being a flight of steps
over the face of the proscenium, which was rightly rejected as
impossible. But doubtless no one who has seen the theatre has
been fully satisfied either with this explanation of the purpose of
the huge and carefully built passage, or with the theory that the
architect of the theatre consulted so little the convenience of the
persons for whom he was building. For the entrance to the pas-
sage lies outside of the scena.2 It would have been necessary for
the chorus,3 after donning their costumes, to leave the scena alto-
gether, and, if their entrance was to be made from the parodos,
to encircle the scena to the right or to the left : otherwise (the
rare occurrence) to descend the steps back of the scena, pass
through the passage, and appear through the central door of the
proscenium. This is hardly conceivable. The purpose of the
vaulted passage must receive another explanation. I can only
suggest that it may have been used for the irofxiral of priests,
* This objection was pointed out by Mr. Gardner, J. H. S. 1892-8, p. 146, and
by Mr. Loring, J. H. S., Supplement I, p. 94.
8 Although this passage may have been constructed after the fourth century,
there was just as much need as ever of providing for the chorus in tragedy and the
satyr-drama.
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344 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
choregi, public officials, actors, and choruses, who entered the
theatre in pomp and circumstance at the festivals after the sacri-
fice at the altar.
The doors in the parodoi suggest what is at once the simplest,
and, in my opinion, the actual solution of the main question.
These doors provided for the entrance of the actors from
the sides. But, for those who refuse to accept Dr. Dorpfeld's
theory of the stage, they have no significance whatever un-
less they were to be used by the chorus for a like purpose.
Hence there must have been corresponding doors in the
front walls of the two wings. It will be seen that bv such
an arrangement the descent of 3.46 m. was made perfectly
convenient even for buskined feet. By means of the sloping
parodoi about 1.25 m. of this descent was accomplished. An
equal amount could have been made by ramps in the wings slop-
ing in the opposite direction and the balance by ramps or steps in
the space between the parallel walls. Or, on the other hand, the
whole remaining descent of something over 2 m. could have been
accomplished by flights of steps in the wings or between the
parallel walls. Further excavation might throw light on this
question. Meanwhile it can hardly be doubted that in one of the
two ways suggested provision was made for the descent of the
choreutae from the dressing-rooms to the parodoi without the
necessity of their going out of the building. On the compar-
atively rare occasions of their entrance from the central door
(which, by the way, was utterly impossible in this theatre if the
proscenium was a stage), the latter half of the descent was made
between the parallel walls instead of in the parodoi.
The Eretrian Theatre and the Stage Question. So far I have avoided
as far as possible all controverted points in the interpretation of
this theatre, which has been called into evidence by both parties
to the controversy concerning the elevated stage. I should not
now go beyond the strict requirements of my report of the recent
excavations had not the fairness of Mr. Fossum's report been
called in question by Mr. Gardner (J. H. S. 1892-3, p. 146). He
objects that Mr. Fossum, in his zeal to defend the new theory,
entirely overlooked the fact that the elevated seena, opening
directly upon the proscenium without a change of level, was a
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EXCAVATIONS IN THE ERETRIAN THEATRE. 345
strong argument for the use of the proscenium as a stage for
actors. But Mr. Gardner seems to have entirely overlooked the
fact that the chorus of fifteen persons had to descend to the lower
level in any case. The descent of three additional persons in-
volved no greater difficulty. One might as well bring against
the old view the objection that the actors would have had to
.ascend from the dressing-rooms, which in most theatres were not
elevated above the orchestra, to the high proscenium. The ele-
vated scena at Eretria, therefore, can give no comfort to either
party. On the other hand the tunnel in the orchestra gives an
unanswerable argument for the appearance of actors in the
•orchestra. This argument cannot be set aside by showing how
easy it would have been for actors to appear on top of the pros-
cenium, nor by referring to the uncertainty as regards the date
•of its construction.4 It was built before the stone proscenium
and its structure points to a good Greek period.5 It may be
assigned with probability to the period of the reconstruction of
the theatre. It need not excite surprise that the orchestra should
still have been used by actors down to (perhaps) the Christian
•era. The only reason for the elevation of the stage in Roman
times was the necessity of using the inner half of the orchestra
for seating purposes. This necessity seems never to have arisen
at Eretria.6 Therefore the orchestra remained the most suitable
place for the performance of both actors and chorus. When the
Roman stage appeared it was made deep enough to accommodate
the chorus as well as the actors. There is no reason to believe
that the two classes of players were ever separated by a difference
of level in the Greek theatre any more than in the Roman.
Returning once more to the tunnel, it must be accepted as evi-
dence that actors appeared in the orchestra in Eretria at a period
* Weissmann, Die scenische Auffuhrung der griechisehen Dramen de*5. Jahr-
hunderts, p. 11, says: "Man ist einerseits iiber die Zeit der Entstehung desselben
nieht einig." But, so fur as I know, Dr. Dorpfeld alone has expressed an author-
itative opinion on the subject.
5 So Dr. Dorpfeld, cf. a. j. a. 1891, p. 277. Fossum's dating of the stone pros-
cenium in the first century B. c. is of course entirely conjectural. See ibid, p. 264.
6 I judge from the fact alone that a low Roman stage was never erected here.
This would not prevent the erection of a row of thrones on the level of the orchestra,
as at Oropos, and, probably, at Eretria. See Mr. Brcwj .*=( n's report, A. J. A. 1891,
p. 275.
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346 PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
possibly not far removed from the age of Vitruvius, at a time when
a Vitruvian proscenium, whether of wood or of stone, was standing.
Fortunately this tunnel cannot be explained away as having been
used for drainage purposes 7 or for gladiatorial exhibitions. The
objection has been made,8 it is true, that it cannot be proved that
this tunnel was ever used in connection with dramatic perform-
ances. Neither can it be proved that this proscenium, the scena,
the theatre itself, were ever used for dramatic performances. But
the presumption in this case amounts to a certainty. The burden
of proof lies heavily on him who challenges the position taken by
Mr. Brownson 9 in the official report of this discovery (A. J. A.
1891, p. 266 ff.) The tunnels found at Sicyon, Magnesia, and
Tralles, considered separately, might with some reason have been
considered doubtful evidence ; but supported by the structure at
Eretria, which is in perfect preservation and whose purpose is
clear, they should be accepted as the solution of a problem for
whose answer archaeologists and students of the Greek drama had
long been waiting.
Edward Capps.
7 Dumon, Le Logeion, Paris, 1894, p. 18. ; cf. Oehmichen, W. f. kl. Phil., 1892r
col. 1141.
8 By Dr. Earle, in a paper an abstract of which is found in the Fourteenth An-
nual Report of the Arch. Inst, of America, p. 61, (1892-8.)
• Apart from the extremely improbable suggestion that this tunnel may have
served as the cave in the Cyclops and Philoctetes, I. c. p. 278. The most significant
passage from the dramas for the illustration of the use of the tunnel by actors is frag.
227 (Nauck) of the Sisyphus of Aeschylus, first pointed out by Wecklein.
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SOME SCULPTURES FROM KOPTOS IN PHILADELPHIA.
Daring the winter of 1894, Mr. Flinders-Petrie explored the
site of ancient Koptos, (the modern town of Kuft), some thirty
miles north of Thebes, on the 26th parallel.
This was at all times the point from which caravans started on
their way to the Red Sea. It stood at the head of the two desert
roads that led, one through the Hammamat Valley, due east, and
the other to Berenice, to the southeast, and was, therefore, the
centre of commerce and the point of contact from earliest times
with Arabia and Southern Asia, as well as with the coast of
Somali, Eastern Africa, known to the ancient Egyptians as the
Land of Punt — the Divine or Holy Land.
Although monumental traces of kings of the Old Empire were
recovered — notably those of Khufu, Pepi I, and Pepi Neferkara —
the earliest sculptures sent by Mr. Petrie to the department of
Archaeology and Palieontology of the University of Pennsylvania,
date from the reign of Antef V JSTefer-Kheperu-Re, of the xi
Dynasty, who reigned about 2875 b. c.
At Koptos King Antef V seems to have rebuilt or added to
the ancient temple, and much of the stone work of his edifice was
in the course of time used, as was common in Egypt, by his suc-
cessors as building material for subsequent improvements or
additions.
At least forty sculptured limestone slabs, most of which are
small and thin — such as the five in the collection now in Phila-
delphia— were found turned face down, having been used to form
the pavement of a later hall (probably of the xn dynasty). The
thinness of these has led Mr. Petrie to think that the Antef Tem-
ple was of brick faced with limestone. Some of the slabs are
incised, others carved in bas-relief and the workmanship is fine.
347
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348 SARA Y. STEVENSON.
The subjects represented usually treat of King Antef and of his
offerings to Min, God of Koptos, to Roros, and to a goddess.
Those here referred to are carved in relief. One represents the
flying sun-disc with " Neter-Behuted " on either side. This once
formed the lintel of a door-way. The others respectively give the
cartouche, names and titles as well as the " Ka " name of the
monarch.
An interest especially attaches to these Koptos slabs, as with
the exception of a few small fragments in the Ghizeh Museum,,
Fig. 39. — Statue of the Ptolemaic Period.
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SOME SCULPTURES FROM KOPTOS IN PHILADELPHIA. 349
they are the only temple wall-sculptures, other than those of
funeral shrines, yet known of the period anterior to the xviii
dynasty.1
Among the larger and most important objects in the collection
is a sandstone statue of the Ptolemaic period, found in the back of
the temple temenos (Fig. 39). The feet are missing and the head was
broken off at the neck, but fits exactly on the body. It is most
un-Egyptian in its artistic treatment. Had it been found in the
Mediterranean region and had the head been lost, it must un-
doubtedly have been ascribed to the Archaic period of Cypriote
art, when Asiatic influence was most strongly felt. The stiff,
conventional attitude, the long, clinging fringed garment showing
the slightest possible suggestion of drapery, the position of the
arms, undetached from the body, are almost puzzling when con-
sidered in connection with the prettily formed head. This is
encircled by a wreath of rosettes or daisies, beneath which ap-
pears a fine fringe of curled hair, falling over the forehead.
Although circlets decorated with rosettes were worn by Egyp-
tian women in the earliest times — as may be seen for instance on
the well-known statue of Nefert found at Medum, as well as on
the mummies of the princesses of the xn dynasty, whose unopened
tombs were discovered by M. de Morgan at Dashour in 1894 — at
no time was the hair thus treated by the Egyptian artists ; and we
are again led to remember the Cypriote statues of the fifth cen-
tury, in which the influence of Greece is plainly betrayed. Here
as in some of those statues 2 the outer corner of the eyes is slightly
oblique — no doubt with a view to giving the face a pleasant ex-
pression and to bringing the eyes into symmetry with the mouth.
But the whole treatment of the hair, and the graceful rounded
lines of the charming face of our specimen, remind us that the
artist not only belonged to a school of art influenced by Greece,
but to a period of higher artistic development. A head given by
Dr. Richter in Kypros, the Bible and Homer n, pi. ccxv, wears a
very similar wreath. The fringe of hair, however, is curled in
stiff locks instead of a curly fringe, ne ascribes it to the v cen-
tury.
1 See Mr. Petrie's Catalogue of a Collection from the Temple of Koptos, exhibited
in the Edwards Library —University Coll., London, 1894.
* Perrot et Chipiez, Hist. deVArt, III, p. 687, fig. 363.
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350 SARA Y. STEVENSON.
The individual whose statue is now here, was probably of
Egyptian blood: at least the cast of features with its full lips,
large eyes, and smooth contours is of the type designated by Mr.
Petrie, in his valuable collection of Ethnic types, as high caste
Egyptian or P unite — the term being used as derived from Punt,
the name given by the Egyptians to the land and district of the Red
Sea whence the Poeni or Phoenicians and cognate peoples traced
their origin. The specimen is interesting. Dating from a time when
Hellenic art had reached its fullest development, but found in a
remote locality where Hellenic influence must have been weak-
ened by other influences, it gives us one more warning not to be
too ready to ascribe to the Archaic period works of uncertain
provenance, offering Archaic features. Did we not know its pre-
cise historical horizon, we should, I think, be tempted to ascribe
this statue to Cyprus and to a considerably earlier period than
that to which we know it to belong.
Fig. 40.— Head of Caracalla.
Another interesting piece in the series from Koptos is a colossal
head of the Roman Emperor Caracalla (a. d. 211) wearing the royal
asp of the Egyptian kings (Fig. 40). It was found at the foot of a
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SOME SCULPTURES FROM KOPTOS IN PHILADELPHIA. 351
flight of steps leading to the temple. It is most repulsive in its
expression and is evidently a good portrait. On seeing the rough,
brutal face, the scowling eyes, the deep furrows between the
brows, no one will feel inclined to doubt the truth of the accounts
handed down by history, with regard to the cruelty of the despot.
The head is of syenite, it weighs about 300 lbs. ; and faint traces
of red paint still remain. As far as I know, no other portrait
head of Caracalla has been found in Egypt and the specimen is
unique also as regards material.
The collection moreover includes some fragments from« the
temple of Amen-em-hat I, xn dynasty, and a set of foundation
■deposits of Thothmes III — pottery, bronze implements, etc. ; many
fragments and minor objects of more or less interest, and a num-
ber of flint implements found at various depths in the town.
Sara T. Stevenson.
Dep't of Archaeology and Palaeontology,
University of Pennsylvania.
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS
AT NIPPUR.
II. THE NIPPUR ARCH.
[Plate XX.]
In an article on the temple of Bel at Nippur, published in
this Journal, Vol. x, No. 1, I mentioned the discovery by Mr.
HayneB of a " Roman " arch. This gave rise to an unfortunate
misunderstanding, as though he had meant to ascribe the arch to
the Roman period. In point of fact, Mr. Haynes claimed from
the outset that he had discovered a true arch far antedating any
hitherto discovered. At the time when my article was written I
was unable to give any details regarding this arch, but since then
the Committee has received from Mr. Haynes blue prints of the
arch and its surroundings, which prove it to be a trtie key-stone
arch, pointed, and older than the time of Sargon of Agane
(3800 b. a). The accompanying drawings, made from these
blue prints by Mr. James T. Dye, will demonstrate, I think, the
complete accuracy of Mr. Haynes' claim that he has discovered a
true arch, older by many hundred years than any hitherto known.
It will be interesting to give the history of the discovery in his
own words. Under date of Oct. 13th, 1894, he wrote as follows :
" Underneath the spot where the greatest number of these terra-
cotta water-vents were found [an illustration of these water-vents
was given in the afore-mentioned number of the Journal, Fig. 21]
we have to-day come upon a drain extending under the walls of
the aforesaid building. The drain appears to be older than the
building above, and to have fallen into disuse before the building
was placed above it."
A week later, Oct. 20th, he writes : " The drain reported in
my last letter to have been found under the very ancient building
352
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UNIVERSITF OF PESNSYLVANIA EXCA VATIOSS AT NIPPUR. 853
or edifice under the eastern corner of the ziggurat has been fol-
lowed out, and at its outer or discharging orifice we have just found
a section of an arch that may have originally covered the whole
drain. This is a perfectly formed elliptical arch of one foot and
eight inches span, and one foot one inch rise, with a total height
of two feet four inches from the bottom to the top of the arch."
And a month later, Nov. 24th, he writes that " the drain passes
under the entire breadth of the edifice."
Fig. 41. — View of Arch from thk Inside.
Fig. 41 gives a view of the arch above described " from the in-
side, before its front was opened. Two drain tiles are dimly seen
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354 JOHN P. PETERS.
in the bottom of the arch." Fig. 42 gives " a more distant view "
of the same arch. Plate xx " shows the outward side of the arch.
The arch here is forced out of shape. It would seem to have
been done from the unequal pressure of the settling mass above
it, when it was drenched, perhaps with percolating rain water,
from above. Since the arch is laid in clay mortar the bricks
would readily yield to unequal pressure, especially as these bricks
Fig. 42. — A more distant view of Arch.
are convex on one side, while they are flat on the other side.
You will observe one of the tiles (broken) in the bottom of the
drain and a smaller tile in the top of the arch. I do not profess
to know the meaning of these tiles. It is, of course, possible that
the water-vents [which, as stated above, were found very near
this arch and drain] served some purpose in connection with the
tile in the top of the arch. The size of the tile admits of such
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 355
possible use." Mr. Haynes then calls attention to the proximity
of the drain and arch to the altar, and suggests the possibility
that the drain carried away the waste from the altar, while the
small upper tile, to which was probably attached a water-vent,
brought water for drinking and other purposes.
The remaining illustrations (Figs. 43, 44, 45, 46) show the po-
sition of this arch in relation to the surrounding and superincum-
bent structures. Fig. 43 " gives a front [southeast] view of the
Fig. 43. — Vikw of Ziggukat from South kant.
ziggurat. It was taken from an opening in the great enclosing wall
of the temple area in front of or southeast of the ziggurat itself.
In the middle of the picture is the causeway, which may have
been an approach to the higher stages of the ziggurat. It is
composed of two parallel walls built of the burned bricks of Ur-
Gur, many of which are stamped with the well-known eight-line
inscription. The space between the two walls is filled with a
regularly laid and solid mass of crude bricks, whose average
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356 JOHN P. PETERS.
dimensions are 9 by 6 by 3 inches. These bricks are of the same
mould, and in color and texture are identical with the crude
bricks composing the greater part of the huge mass of the zig-
.gurat built by the mighty builder Ur-Gur. The stepped appear-
ance of the two walls of the causeway is the result of cutting
■down the walls to make a level foundation for the fa$ade or crust
of the later cruciform construction [built against and upon the
ziggurat]. As this construction was built up solid, the outer part
or crust cannot be spoken of as a wall. It was under this crust,
corresponding to the wall of a building, that the parallel walls of
the causeway were cut down to provide against the ponderous
settling of the mass above it. The tunnel under the entire length
of the causeway proves the structure, as it now stands, to be
homogeneous, and therefore the work of a single builder, who is
the great builder of the ziggurat, which is now freshly exposed to
view.
" The original faces of the second and third stages of the zig-
gurat are respectively shown at D, I) and E, E. B and C are
central projections of the same stages. No such projections are
to be found on any other side of the ziggurat. The design of
these projections over the causeway is not evident." .... "What-
ever the purpose of this earliest causeway may have been, it seems
to have suggested to the later generations the form that was
adopted in the cruciform construction. At a higher level, and
belonging to a later period than the causeway, were built from
the middle of the four sides of the ziggurat, at right angles to its
faces, four arms twenty feet wide and probably upwards of sixty
feet in length. These arms were built of crude bricks, measur-
ing 14 X 14 X 6 inches.
" The cruciform construction of later times was a broadening
of these arms on essentially the same foundations, thus making
an immense elevated platform. It may readily be supposed that
a smaller ziggurat . . . rose from the centre of this great cruci-
form structure as a platform. . . . This accounts for the large -and
high cone of crude bricks still rising far above the cruciform con-
struction. Whatever value one may assign to these suggestions,
it is clear that the earlier causeway suggested the intermediate
projections on the four sides of the ziggurat, and an enlargement
of these produced the great cruciform construction/'
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 357
In farther elucidation of this illustration I may say that the
shrine-like brick structure on the upper northeastern side of the
ziggurat is not part of the ancient Babylonian temple, but a guard
house erected by Mr. Haynes for his own protection at the exca-
vations. The wall marked A is the face of the lowest stage of
the ziggurat of Ur-Gur. On this side, and this side only, the
lowest stage of the original was of burned brick, the remainder
of the ziggurat being of crude brick, as stated in my recent
article in the Journal. To the left of the causeway represented
in this Fig. 43 was found a door-socket of trachytic rock with an
inscription of Ur-Gur. The suggestion is that this door-socket1
originally stood on the causeway and waa thrown down at the
time when the later construction, described by Mr. Haynes, was
built upon this causeway. In that case the causeway, as the ap-
proach to the ziggurat, was guarded by a gate. The form of the
projections B and C, on the second and third stages, directly
above the causeway, suggests some means of ascent to the sum-
mit, as by steps, at this point. The later reconstructions have,
however, so modified the ziggurat at this point as to compel us to
resort to conjecture.
The cruciform structure which the ziggurat later assumed,
whatever its origin, reminds one forcibly of the square cross, which
I have found in Babylonia as early as the time of Qamil-Sin of
Ur (2400 b. a), and which symbolized the sun. This cross rep-
resents the two diameters of a circle, and may be used either with
or without the circle about it.
Fig. 44 " gives a good general view of the eastern corner of the
ziggurat and the adjacent excavations." The wall of small baked
bricks, broken into at the corner, is A of Fig. 43, the facing wall
of the lowest stage of the ziggurat of Ur-Gur on the southeastern
side. The brick wall visible on the northeastern side is of a later
date, as explained in my late article in the Journal. " The
solid mass underlying the ziggurat of Ur-Gur, and included be-
tween the lines A-B, C-D, is a section of the platform of crude
bricks (9 X 6 X 3), eight feet in thickness, which the first and the
1 A similar door-socket, found fifty or siity years ago on or near the surface of
the temple mound, is in the possession of a neighboring chief. I saw an impression'
of this stone in 1890, but was unable to purchase the original.
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358 JOHN P. PETERS.
greatest of the monumental kings [Ur-Gur] made, not only to
serve as the foundation of his splendid ziggurat, but also to form
the pavement of the entire temple enclosure, defined by the inner
line of towers, of which the two bastions in front of the ziggurat
are integral parts. Below the line C-D, but not extending so
Fiq. 44.— Eastern Corner of the Zioqurat.
far to the right as D, is the very ancient edifice descending eleven
feet from the line C-D. There can be little doubt that it belongs
to the time of, and is the work of some king of, the Sargon
dynasty, or of an earlier king than even the very ancient Sargon."
• • . . " In the line C-D [under the letter D] is seen a fragment of
a pavement. The bricks of this pavement are the bricks of Sar-
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 359
gon and of his son Naram-Sin. They are 15} X 15} X 3 inches
in measurement."
Under date of Nov. 24th, 1894, Mr. Haynes gives the follow-
ing account of this pavement : " Underneath the crude brick
platform on which the ziggurat was founded waa a bit of pave-
ment, consisting of two courses of burned bricks. The lower
course of the pavement contained several stamped bricks of
Naram-Sin, and at least three or four of Sargon's stamped bricks.
The pavement contained bricks and half bricks of Sargon and his
son, and may have been laid by the latter, or by some successor
of him."
That is to say, the bricks are evidently not old ones collected
from other buildings or pavements by later kings and relaid at
this point, but are found in their position as originally laid by
Naram-Sin. It should be noted that we always find Naram-Sin
in close association with his father, 60 close, indeed, that we
might almost suppose that he was associated with him upon the
throne; which association, if it existed, would well explain the
use by Naram-Sin of new bricks of his father along with his own.
In confirmation of this date for this pavement are the additional
facts that Mr. Haynes found at the eastern corner of the ancient
building, immediately below the platform of Ur-Gur, a brick-
stamp of Sargon, and that while he found various objects with in-
scriptions of Sargon and Naram-Sin above this pavement he
found nothing of either of these kings below it. My own dis-
coveries of the remains of Sargon in so far confirm this view of
the age of this pavement, that I found remains of Sargon and
Alu-Sharshid immediately beneath the Ur-Gur remains. It must
be added, however, that I also found at some distance away remains
of Sargon at a depth of 7} feet below this. So, also, in excavat-
ing the city wall to the northwest of the temple [xi in the general
map of the mounds published in the Journal, Pl. v] Mr. Haynes
found crude bricks, 20 X 20 X 3} inches, inscribed on the under
surface with the name and titles of Naram-Sin, immediately be-
neath the familiar 9x6x3 bricks of Ur-Gur.
But if this platform of two courses of baked brick were built by
Naram-Sin, it is then clear that the ancient edifice, the founda-
tions of which are eleven feet below this platform, the altar, the
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360 JOHN P. PETERS.
top of which is three feet below the platform, and above all the
arched drain, the bottom of which is fifteen feet below the level
of the platform, are older than the time of Naram-Sin. Mr.
Haynes has been too modest to believe that he has made dis-
coveries so much earlier than any heretofore made, or almost
dreamed of, and in my article in the Journal (x, i) I followed
too implicitly the example of his modesty. With the facts fur-
nished by his latest letters and the accompanying photographs it
is now clear that his later discoveries beneath the ziggurat are
even much earlier than we had at first supposed.
In my article on the Temple, I, following Mr. Haynes, ascribed
the building beneath the eastern corner of the ziggurat to Naratn-
Sin. It is clearly older, the pavement of the last-named king be-
ing flush with the summit of the remains of that building. The
pavement, however, does not overlie this building, upon which,
without anything intervening, rests the eight-foot thick platform
of Ur-Gur, the foundation of his ziggurat. It was this lack of
continuity of the pavement of Naram-Sin, with the immediate
superimposition of the work of Ur-Gur upon the tower, just as
the work of Ur-Gur is superimposed upon that of Naram-Sin in
the external city wall, together with a partial resemblance in size
and texture between the Naram-Sin bricks of the city wall and
the bricks of the ancient tower, which caused the mistake.
Under date of Oct. 15, 1894, Mr. Haynes thus describes the
ancient building beneath the eastern corner of the ziggurat : " A
small and separate building . . . having an equal length and
breadth of 23 feet, with a symmetrical and double re-entrant
angle at its northern corner. It is built up solidly like a tower,
and its exterior surface shows no trace of a door or opening of
any kind. Its splendid walls, eleven feet high, were built of
large crude bricks, each measuring one foot six and a half inches
in length and breadth, and varying in thickness from 3| to 4
inches. [The Naram-Sin bricks in the outer city wall measured
20 X 20 X 3J.] The bricks were made of tenacious clay, thor-
oughly mixed with finely cut straw and well kneaded. The bat-
ter of its wall averages £ inches to the foot."
Fig. 45 will give some idea of the relation to each other of
this ancient tower (beneath which, it must be remembered, lies
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 361
the arched drain), the Ur-Gur ziggurat, the altar, and the archaic
curb of brick described in the Journal. The photograph from
which the sketch was made was taken " from an elevated position
nearly east of the corner." .... u A is the first stage of Ur-Gur's
ziggurat. B is a pavement, about ten feet wide, on which was
laid the sloping bed of bitumen to protect the foundations of the
ziggurat from falling rain. The tunnels under this pavement
discovered the lower archaic edifice that is still without a name.
The curb of primitive bricks, seven courses high, supposed to
Fia. 43. — Vikw of Altar and Curb.
bound the sacred enclosure around the altar, cuts off the view of
the lower part of the tunnels. A wall of unexcavated earth is
left underneath the curb to support it in place. C is the early
altar lying under the eight-foot pavement of Ur-Gur, as did also
the curb, which is still lower than the altar."
The top of the altar, as already stated, was 3 feet below the
bottom of Ur-Gur's platform. It was made of earth with a rim
of bitumen around the edge on top. Its surface dimensions were
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362 JOHN P. PETERS.
13 feet by 8. It was well covered with ashes, some of which
proved to be bone ashes, and a bin or receptacle, also of unburned
clay, to the left (southwest) of the altar was half full of ashes. To
the right of the tower is seen a part of the pavement of Naram-Sin.
Fig. 46 will supplement Fru. 45 in explaining the relative po-
sition of the strata at *the eastern corner of the ziggurat, and
especially of the arched drain. It is a view from the top of the
Fia. 46. — Excavations about and akovk thk Arch.
altar looking " down into the deep trench.'* " G is the curb. The
early arch is directly under the curb, and being in deep shadow
is scarcely discernible. The arch covers the mouth of an open
drain seen at H. At D is seen a bit of pavement higher than the
curb This pavement consists entirely of the burned bricks
of Sargon and Naram-Sin. Directly upon this pavement is placed
the great crude brick platform, eight feet thick, of Ur-Gur. Be-
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 363
low this pavement at D no bricks of Sargon or of his son Naram-
Sin have been found. It should be noticed that this pavement
.... is on the level of the top of the lower archaic edifice, underly-
ing Ur-Gur's platform ; that it is three feet higher than the ancient
altar, and that it is eleven feet above the foundation of the lower
edifice, and fifteen feet above the bottom of the early drain and
arch."
And now before summing up conclusions with reference to
the arch and its date, it may be interesting to call attention to
some of the objects found at or below the Naram-Sin level, but
above the level of the arch, near the ancient tower. " In a layer
of light gray ashes, some four inches in depth, on the northeastern
side of this building, and nearly on a level with the top of its
walls, and underneath the Ur-Gur platform of crude bricks was
found a fragment of an unbaked tablet," also " several lumps of
kneaded clay, and among them an imperfect tablet prepared on
one side only for an inscription."
Besides the interest which this discovery has as showing the
use of clay tablets at so early a date, it also exhibits the manufac-
ture of tablets within the temple precincts, and in close proximity
to, if not in connection with, the central shrine. It will be re-
membered that a pottery furnace containing a newly-baked tablet
of a similar early date was found in front of the ziggurat to the
southeast. More recently Mr. Haynes has discovered a deposit
of unbaked tablets, apparently of the Cossaean period, in a room
close to the western corner of. the ziggurat. I found a number of
beautiful baked clay tablets, unlike anything else which I have
ever seen, quite close to the ziggurat to the southeast, but above
the Ur-Gur level. All of which suggests to my mind a connec-
tion between the Temple, and particularly the ziggurat, and the
manufacture of the tablets, especially in the earliest period, when
we may suppose that writing was more rare, and hence more
sacred. It is noticeable that almost every inscribed stone found
at Nippur has been found in the Temple, and the very few frag-
ments found elsewhere were manifestly not in their original
position.
" Several fragments of lime mortar have also been found in the
debris near the walls of the above-mentioned building, and at a
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364 JOHN P. PETER**.
depth of several feet below Ur-Gur's platform." The discovery
of lime mortar would appear from this note of Mr. Haynes to
have antedated Naram-Sin. The earliest use of bitumen for
mortar which I remember to have observed at Nippur postdates
this use of lime mortar, occurring in constructions of the time of
Ur-Gur. As stated above, the bricks of the drain and arch were
laid in mud. Considering the effect of running water on such
mortar, one is almost inclined to argue that neither lime nor
bitumen were known in Babylonia at the time of the construction
of the arch.
At the beginning of October, 1894, Mr. Haynes wrote : " On
the southeastern side of this ancient edifice, nine feet below the
bottom of Ur-Gur's platform, two terracotta water vents were
found." Toward the close of November he writes : " On the
southeastern side of the above-mentioned building [the archaic
tower], and on a level with its foundations, have been discovered
ten basketfuls of the archaic water vents." . . . . " All of these
have been found within ten feet from the above-mentioned build-
ing .... and on the sides nearest to the altar."
Attention has already been called to the possible relation of
the archaic drain to the altar, and of the water vents to both. It
is worthy of note that the necessity of holding and controlling
water was one of the fertile causes in the early development of
the art of baking and shaping clay in Babylonia. Among the
apparently most ancient " finds " made by Mr. Haynes at Nippur
was a terracotta fountain found in the bed of the Nil canal,
which divided the city of Nippur into two parts. Under date of
August 13th, 1893, he writes: "By means of a trench 87 feet
long, with an average depth of 21 feet, we have at length found
the ancient bed, and northeastern, or left bank of the Shatt-en-
Nil at the narrowest point of the main canal, opposite to the hill
marked iv on the general map of Nippur [viz., Plate iv accom-
panying my late article in the Journal], At the depth of 20£
feet below the surface, in the middle of the stream, and at the
point where the accumulations above it were least, the bed of the
canal was found."
" In the debris accumulated above the bed of the stream, and
seventeen feet below the surface, we found three fragments of an
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCAVATIONS AT NIPPUR. 865
ancient terracotta foundation of unique design, with interesting
figures in high relief. One fragment, seven by ten inches, repre-
sents a priest clad in richly embroidered robes, and standing on
the backs (shoulders) of two winged camels, I think possibly
winged horses. Jets of water poured through the upturned
heads of the animals. From the curvature of the fragments I
judged the fountain to have been more than two feet in diameter,
and there must have issued from it at least sixteen jets of water.
To me these fragments are interesting from two points of view —
first, as proving the existence of fountains at Nippur; second, as
an example of somewhat archaic art, in which the perspective is
bad and the species of the animals not easily distinguished, while
the decorations and robes of the headless priest reveal the artist
in a work of true merit."
This fountain, together with the water-vents of terracotta and
the arched drain with especially constructed tiles certainly show
the importance of water works in the early art and architecture
of Nippur. Mr. Haynes ventures the suggestion that the first use
of baked bricks was due to the necessity of constructing drains
and waterways capable of resisting the action of water. However
this may be, the earliest arch yet found in Babylonia, or, indeed,
anywhere, like the earliest arch found in Rome, the arch of the
Cloaca under the Circus Maximus, was the arch of a drain or
water-way.
As has been already pointed out, this arch antedates by a
considerable period the time of Naram-Sin (3750 b. c), since it
lies beneath structures which were themselves older than his era.
It cannot apparently be ascribed to a period later than 5000 b. c,
if the date of 3750 b. c. for Naram-Sin be correct. A more pre-
cise date I do not as yet venture to propose, as the strata below
the Ur-Gur platform has not yet been explored over a sufficiently
large area. Below the bottom of this arch also there are from
twelve to fifteen feet of debris which are practically unexplored.
As will be evident from the above descriptions of the arch and
the position in which it was found Mr. Haynes has discovered a
true arch of an almost incredible antiquity. After this article was
already in type a letter from him under date of April 27th, 1895,
announced the discovery of another arch, this time of crude
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366 JOHN P. PETERS.
brick, in hill x, a part of the city separated from the temple
by the Nil canal. He describee this arch as "pointed," by
which I understand that he means sharp pointed, like the
Gothic, and not blunt, or round pointed like the one described
above. Mr. Haynes conjectured that this latter vault or arch
might be older than 2000 b. c, and from the objects which he
reports as found with it and about it his conjecture is confirmed,
since these objects date from about 2500 b. c. We have, then,
two arches from Nippur, one from about 5000 b. c, and the
other from about 2500 b. c. The construction of the former of
these arches shows us that at that very early period the principle
of the arch was already thoroughly understood in Babylonia and
that the arch already had a story behind it. To the best of my
knowledge no other examples of the true arch have been found
in Babylonia earlier than the Parthian or Sassanian period. This
is due partly to the fact that so little excavating has been done
among the ruins of that region, and partly to the fact that the
upper portion of constructions of all sorts is the part which has
almost always fallen completely into ruins. In Assyria, however,
Layard found a vaulted room and more than one arch in the ruins
of Nimroud. He reports these as true arches and says of one of
them in his Nineveh and its Remains, Chap, xi : " The arch was
constructed upon the well-known principle of vaulted roofs —
the bricks being placed sideways, one against the other, and hav-
ing been probably sustained by a frame-work until the vault was
completed." At Khorsabad, Place discovered several arched
drains, pointed, elliptical and round, but in these the bricks or
stones were laid at an angle, each course having a support in the
course before it, so that no frame was required in the construc-
tion, a method of building arches employed to this day in the
Turkish empire.
In Egypt it is possible to trace somewhat more fully the devel-
opment of the arch, but there also great lacunae are yet to be
filled. The principle of the arch, support by thrust, seems to be
recognized in the pyramid of Cheops, where the roof of one of
the chambers, having an enormous weight to uphold, is formed
by two stones resting against one another at an angle. The third
pyramid, of the fourth dynasty, advances a step further. In this
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UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXCA VATIONS AT NIPPUR. 367
the roof of one of the tomb chambers is formed of blocks of
granite resting against one another at an angle, as in the pyramid
of Cheops, but it is unlike th£ latter in that these blocks are
hollowed out on the under side, thus giving an effect something
like the English Gothic. A tomb at Abydos, of the sixth dynas-
ty, described by Mariette, presents us with a keystone arch of
elliptical shape in which the key and the two bases are of stone,
while the intervening portions are of unbaked bricks, leaving large
interstices to be filled in with mud and small stones. Two very
ancient tombs at Sakkarah, the precise date of which is uncertain,
exhibit the arch completely developed (Maspero, Mission arcMo-
fogique frangaise au Caire, I, 195), and by the time of the thirteenth
dynasty elliptical and round arches become quite common in tombs.
While it is probable that in this as in other matters the civil-
izations of Egypt and Babylonia were parallel and not dependent,
so far as our present information goes, the arch was known in
the latter country earlier than in the former, the Nippur arch,
discovered by Mr. Haynes, antedating the earliest true arch yet
found in Egypt by more than a thousand years.
The earliest arch yet discovered outside of those countries,
namely the Cloaca under the Circus Maximus at Rome, is nearly
contemporary with the arches found by Layard at Nimroud, and
more than four thousand years later than the earliest arch dis-
covered by Haynes at Nippur.
In conclusion, although it has no bearing upon the subject of
this arch, or its date, I will take this opportunity to correct what
now appears to be an erroneous statement in my article in the
Journal on the Temple of Bel, on the basis of fresh information
from the field. As I stated then, we are not yet in a condition
to reach final results in many points, and, as all know, theories
are apt to be overturned by new facts, even when we think we
have them well established. I suggested that the two towers on
the inner wall of the temple enclosure were pillars of the same
nature as Jachin and Boaz in the Jewish temple, conventionalized
phallic symbols. Mr. Haynes appears at length to have estab-
lished the fact that they were bastions on a line of fortification
enclosing the temple court, erected by Ur-Qur, and rebuilt or
built upon by others at a later date. His final proof, which
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368 JOHN P. PETERS.
seems convincing as to the intention of the towers, at their last
reconstruction at least, is the discovery of a parapet, something
which strangely enough I foiled to find. It was the fact of the
cone-like shape of these towers, precisely like gigantic phalli of a
type very common at Nippur, in conjunction with their position,
which reminded me of that of the solid cone-shaped structures
found by Bent in Mashonaland, and the use of the two columns
in Syrian, Phoenician and South African temples, as well as at
Jerusalem, which led me in reconstructing the temple to form
such a theory regarding them.
It ought to be added that small phallic symbols are very com-
mon in the Temple at Nippur. Some of these represent the
male organ in the most completely naturalistic fashion, and from
these to the inscribed nail-shaped objects, found in such large
numbers at Tello, we have been able to form a complete and un-
mistakable series. These phalli were for the most part scattered
promiscuously through the debris at all levels from the surface
downward. Once only we found them in unmistakable connec-
tion with a wall, thrust into the bitumen mortar between the
bricks, or lying at the bottom of the wall in a position which
suggested that they had once been thrust into it. It will be re-
membered that at Warka Loftus found a wall constructed
entirely of these cones, arranged in patterns. I do not remember
any report from M. de Sarzec with reference to the use made of
these cones at Tello, but in examining his excavations I saw a
wall from which his workmen said that he had obtained a very
large number of nail-headed, inscribed cones, where the cones
were built into the wall without pattern or order in the bitumen
between the bricks. There were certainly hundreds of these
cones in the wall at the time that I saw it. What was the mean-
ing of this use of the cones I do not know, but that the cones were
conventionalized forms of the phallus was clearly established by
the series collected at Nippur. In view of the ubiquity of phallus
symbols in Babylonian ruins, and their varying sources, I trust
that I may be pardoned for my mistake in regard to the cone-like
towers or bastions. John P. Peters.
St. Michael's Church,
New York, June 15, 1895.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS.
Summary of recent Discoveries and Investigations.
ASIA MINOR, 396 { KRETE 399 I 8YRIA, 396
BABYLONIA 388 ■ KYPROS, 399 TRIPOLI, 386
EGYPT 369 I PALE8TINE, 394 1 TUNIS, 885
GREECE, 403 PERSIA, 393 TURKEY 422
ITALY, 424 '
AFRICA.
EGYPT.
THE EGYPTIAN RESEARCH ACCOUNT AND A NEW EGYPTIAN RACE.-
The work of this new enterprise, which is still on a humble scale, has
resulted this season in filling the greatest blank in Egyptian history
and doing so in the most unexpected manner. To write of a new
race in Egypt, and of towns and cemeteries in the heart of the coun -
try filled with objects entirely non-Egyptian might have seemed
absurd six months ago ; yet that is the present result. Mr. Quibell's
work for the Research Account has so closely interwoven in subject
with my own work in the same district that most of the results are
common to both parties; but in the essential matter of dating, all the
honors have fallen to him, and but for the Research work we should
still be groping in the dark as to the age of this new people. I will
now briefly summarize the joint results.
A new race has been found, which had not any object or manufac-
ture like the Egyptians: their pottery, their statuettes, their beads,
their mode of burial are all unlike any other in Egypt ; and not a
single usual Egyptian scarab, or hieroglyph, or carving, or amulet, or
bead, or vase has been found in the whole of the remains in question .
That we are dealing with something entirely different from any age of
Egyptian civilization yet known, is therefore certain. That this
was not a merely local variety is also certain, as these strange remains
are found over more than a hundred miles of country, from Abydos
to Gebelen ; our own work was near the middle of this district, be-
tween Ballas and Negada. In this area, and indeed side by side with
these strange remains, are Egyptian towns and tombs with pottery,
869
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370 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
beads and scarabs of the iv, xu, xvm and xix dynasties, exactly like
those found similarly dated in Northern Egypt. The strata of
Egyptian civilization were therefore uniform over the whole country,
so far as we are concerned. No local differences can account for the
novelties. The age of the new race is fixed by the juxtaposition of
their burials with those of the iv and the xu dynasties, and of their
towns with burials of the xu and xvm dynasties. These evidences
prove that they belong to the age between the iv and xu dynasties,
and the known history further limits the date between the vn and ix
dynasties, or about 3000 b. c.
The race was very tall and powerful, with strong features ; a hooked
nose, long-pointed beard, and brown wavy hair are shown by their
carvings and bodily remains. There was no trace of the negro type
apparent, and in general they seem closely akin to the allied races of
the Libyans and Amorites. Their burials are always with the body
contracted, and not mummified, lying with head to south and face to
west, just the reverse of the contracted bodies at Medum. Although
most of the graves have been disturbed, yet sufficient examples remain
untouched among the 2,000 graves opened by us to show that the
bodies were generally mutilated before burial. One large and im-
portant tomb showed four skulls placed between stone vases on the
floor, a separate heap of loose bones of several bodies together, and
around the sides human bones broken open at the ends and scooped
out. Such treatment certainly points to ceremonial anthropophagy.
Other graves are found with all the bones separated and sorted in
classes. The type of the graves is like that of those in the circle at
Mykenai : open square pits, roofed over with beams of wood. They
are always by preference in shoals of watercourses ; showing that the
rare came from a rocky country, where excavation could not be made
except in alluvium. The great development of the legs points to their
having come from hills, and not from a coast or valley. The fre-
quency of forked hunting lances shows their habit of chasing the
gazelle.
Metal and flint were both in use by these people. Copper adzes
show that the wood was wrought, and finely carved bulls' legs to a
couch illustrate the work. Copper harpoons were imitated from the
form in bone. Copper needles indicate the use of sewn garments, and
the multitude of spinning-wheels in the town proves how common
weaving must have been. Flint was magnificently worked, far more
elaborately than by the Egyptians of any age : the splendid examples
in the Ashmolean and Pitt-Rivers Museums at Oxford are now seen to
belong to this people. Both knives and forked lances are found.
Stone vases of all material, from alabaster to granite, were favorite
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[Egypt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 371
possessions; they are beautifully wrought, but entirely made by hand,
without any turning or lathe work. A very puzzling class of objects
long known in Egypt are the slate figures of birds and animals,
rhombi, squares, etc. These now prove to be the toilet palettes for
grinding malachite, probably for painting the eyes, as among Egypt-
ians of the iv dynasty. Beads were favorite ornaments, and were
made of cornelian, lazuli, transparent serpentine and glazed stone.
Pottery was the favorite art of these new people : the variety, the
fineness and the quantity of it is surprising. Few graves are without
ten or a dozen vases, sometimes even as many as eighty. Most of
these are of the coarser kinds, merely used for containing the ashes of
the great funereal fire ; for though the bodies were never burned, a
great burning was made at each funeral, the ashes of which were care-
fully gathered and preserved, sometimes as many as twenty or thirty
large jars full. (See the probably Amorite custom in 2 Chron. xvi,
14, xxi, 19; Jer. xxxiv, 5.) The varieties of pottery are the polished
red haematite facing, the red with black tops (due to deoxidation in
the ashes), and the light brown with wavy handles, like the Amorite
pottery. A later stage of pottery was of coarser brown and of much
altered forms, copying somewhat from Egyptian types of the Old
Kingdom. The wavy-handle jars went through a series of changes,
forming a continuous scale by which their relative ages can be seen.
Animal-shaped vases and many curious sports are found in the red-
faced pottery. Besides these forms, three kinds of pottery seem to
have been imported: buff vases imitating stone, with red spirals and
figures of animals and men; red polished vases with figures of ani-
mals and patterns in white; and black bowls with incised pat-
terns, most like the earliest Italic pottery. Besides these designs,
a great variety of marks are scratched on the local pottery, but not a
single hieroglyph or sign derived from Egyptian writing has been
found. Another fact showing the isolation of these people from the
Egyptians is that all of this fine pottery is hand-made : the wheel was
unknown.
The source of this new race cannot be discussed until the hundreds
of skulls and skeletons which have been obtained are brought over and
studied. Though some objects point strongly to an Amorite connec-
tion, others indicate a western source; and it must be remembered
that probably the Amorites were a branch of the fair Libyan race.
The geographical position is all in favor of the race having come into
Egypt through the western and great Oases, for the vn and vni
Egyptian dynasties were still living at Memphis, showing that no peo-
ple had thrust themselves up the Nile Valley.
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"372 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
The other work of the season has been also of interest. A large
number of tombs of the iv dynasty, with staircases, were found
by Mr. Quibell. The Egyptian town of Nubt was found, from which
Set was called Set-Nubti, and some fine sculptures of Set were un-
earthed. This name Nubt was doubtless transformed into Ombos,
like the greater Nubt = Ombos up the river; and this explains Juve-
nal's account of the Tentyrites and Ombites being neighbors. On the
top of the great plateau, 1,400 feet over the Nile, I found the un-
touched home of palaeolithic man, strewn with wrought flints, some
of which are the finest of such work yet known. A later style of flints
^were also found embedded in the gravel of the old high Nile, thus ex-
tending the discovery of General Pitt- Rivers in the Theban gravels.
An English school of archaeology has been a working reality this
season in Egypt. Besides Mr. Quibell on the Research Account, I
have had Mr. Grenfell, Mr. Price and Mr. Duncan actively engaged
with me, in addition to others who have come for a shorter stay. But
for such full help it would have been impossible to do so much in the
time. — W. M. Flinders Petrie, Academy. April 20.
In another account in the London Times we read (see N. Y. Inde-
pendent, May 2) : uOn the top of a plateau, between Ballas and Nega-
deh, about thirty miles north of Thebes, 1,400 feet above the Nile, the
home of palaeolithic man was found. Large, massive flints, beauti-
fully worked and perfectly unworn, were discovered, of exactly the
same forms of those so well known in the river gravels of France and
England. The enormous age of these is shown by the black brown
staining of them, while others of 5,000 years old by their side show
scarcely a tinge of weathering. Besides these, other flints of a later
palaeolithic type are found embedded in the ancient gravels of the for-
mer high Nile. So that the Nile still rolled down as a vast torrent,
fifty times its present volume, at the latter age of palaeolithic man.
Turning now to historical times, a town was found on the edge of the
desert adjoining a small temple. On clearing this site it was dis-
covered to be the centre of the worship of the proscribed god Set. In
early times the two brothers Set and Horos were both venerated; but
as the Osirian legend grew into popularity Set became abhorred for
his enmity to his father Osiris, and every trace of his worship was re-
moved. In this town of Nubt, from which he was known as Set-
Nubti, he was specially venerated, and many figures of him were
found. A magnificent lintel, with figures of Set, has been sent to the
Gizeh Museum. The discovery of this town, being called Nubt, ex-
plains a passage which has hitherto puzzled translators of Juvenal.
Another town known as Nubt was rendered by the Greeks as Ombos,
now Koum Ombos. But it was this recently found Nubt-Ombos which
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[Egypt.] ARCHjEOLOOICAL NEWS. 378
Juvenal refers to in his Fifteenth Satire as being next to Tentyra, for
Denderah is the nearest city to this on the north. Besides the classical
interest of it, the town was of great value as preserving the remains of
many successive ages. At the bottom of it was pottery precisely like
that found in Northern Egypt of the iv dynasty. Above it was pot-
tery the same as that of the xn dynasty, and above that pottery like
that of the xviu and xix dynasties in northern sites. Hence there is
proof that the varieties of style already traced were not merely local,
but extended widely over the country.
But the strangest result awaited the explorers here. Not a quarter
of a mile from this Egyptian town lay another site of a town. In
that not one potsherd was like those of any of the periods seen in the
Egyptian town. And, vice versd, not a single shred like those in the
strange town was to be found in Nubt. If the new town had been
found in Syria or Persia no one would have supposed it to be con-
nected with Egypt. Not only was a town found, but also a series of
cemeteries of this same new race; and although nearly 2,000 graves
have been completely excavated, every object noted in position and
everything preserved and marked, in this great number of graves
not a single Egyptian object was found."
EXHIBITION.— There was on exhibition in July in the Edwards'
Library and Museum, University College, London, a collection of the
non-Egyptian objects found during last winter by Prof. Flinders
Petrie and those working with him in the course of these excavations.
The finish is in many cases exquisite and the forms are beautiful : the
makers of the pottery do not seem to have learned from the Egyptians
the secret of the potter's wheel, for all their pottery is hand-made.
The key to the comparative chronology of this pottery and the
funerary objects with which it is associated was found in the un-
polished, wavy-handled jars, of which specimens are arranged in order
of development — or degeneration — on Stand 9. The earlier forms of
these jars closely resemble the Amorite pots with wavy handles found
at Lachish, in Palestine, and in these instances the handles are dis-
tinctly structural. In the later examples the form has changed to a
cylindrical shape, and the wavy handles in relief to a slight and con-
tinuous incised pattern carried round the vessel. The pottery with
polished red haematite facing, examples of which occupy Stands 2, 3
and 5, and which recalls in texture the modern ware of Asytit, is also
distinctively characteristic of this people who made it, more especially
that which is partially blackened in the firing.
Some of the larger pieces of this pottery (Stand 5) were incised
after firing with cursive linear drawings of natural forms, such as a
tree, a bird, a scorpion, a gazelle, and even a rude human figure, or
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874 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOOY. [Egypt.]
with conventional signs ; but no traces of writing have been found in
connection with the remains of the men who thus marked their
property in pots. On Stand 4 is pottery made and colored in imita-
tion of the stone jars for suspension, which may be seen hanging along
the middle of the room. It is possible to imagine, from the careful
juxtaposition of the pottery vases, how the realistic marbling may
have suggested the patterns which succeeded it. Another decoration
suggests as its origin the network and cordage used to sustain the
stone jars. Stand 7 is filled with pottery of curious and distinctive
forms : pottery decorated in relief, jars in the forms of animals, clay
boats, etc., modelled in the round. Here, also, are specimens of the
only type of pottery belonging to this people which was adopted by
the Egyptians on their return to power after the submergence of the
Old Kingdom. This form, which somewhat suggests bottles in
modern use for holding salad-dressing, is found, albeit in different
material, in Egyptian pottery, of the xn dynasty.
That the strange race also imported pottery, is to be concluded from
the fact that certain highly decorated types were found only in con-
junction with examples of a certain stage in the evolution of the wavy
handles, and that no evidence of the gradual evolution of the charac-
teristic decorations was forthcoming on the spot. The commonest
design (Stand 6) is a large boat with three paddles for steering, and
with cabins on deck. At the prow are palm fronds, and aft is a tall
pole bearing an ensign, which is in one case an elephant. There is
also a further decoration of rows of birds — ostriches or cranes. With
regard to a second style of imported pottery, we quote the Cata-
logue : —
" The black bowls with incised patterns in white are also certainly
foreign. No such pottery is known in Egyptian make ; but it re-
sembles a finer pottery which has been found in several places with
remains of the xn dynasty. The whole of this black incised ware is
imported, and bears most resemblance to the earliest Italic black
ware found with neolithic and copper tools. Similar fragments have
been found in the lowest level of Hissarlik."
The assumption at present is that our non-Egyptian dwellers on the
west bank of the Nile, who were apparently akin to the allied races of
the Libyans and Amorites, imported this pottery from the home of
their parent race on the shores of the Mediterranean. From time to
time some few examples of the native and imported pottery and of the
characteristic stone vessels of this people have found their unrecorded
way into the general antiquity market. It is a suggestive fact that
the main centres of this distribution have been Abydos and GebelSn —
that is to say, the termini of the two main roads by which the Libyans
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[Egypt.] ARCHjEOLOGICAL NEWS. 875
would enter Egypt from the Oases. The race which we will therefore
provisionally call the Western race, as distinct from the dynastic race
which entered Egypt by the Hammamat Valley, were even more
exquisitely skilled in flint workmahship than in th* manufacture of
hand-made, pottery. At Stands 1 and 17 some of their stone imple-
ments may be examined, and also closely compared with a series of
palaeolithic flints found on the top of a limestone plateau 1,400 feet
above the Nile, and with flints of intermediate period. The people
also wrought for themselves flint bracelets (Stand 15) and glazed with
color the quartz beads of their necklaces. And lastly, the curious
rude slate figures which have hitherto reached museums and collec-
tions only through the hands of plunderers and traders are now
traced to this same distinct people of the Nile Valley, to the same fine
workmen who made the Abydos flints and the GebelGn pottery. —
Academy, July C>.
TOMB OF SENMUT. — "It may interest readers of the Academy to
know that Prof. Steindorff and I discovered a few days ago the tomb
of Senmut, the celebrated architect employed by Queen Hatshepsu to
plan and superintend the building of her beautiful temple at Deir-el
Bahari. The tomb is situated in the uppermost stratum of the Gebel
Sheikh Abd el Gurneh, and consists of three chambers, all of which
were elaborately painted.
" Unfortunately, it is now in a very bad state of preservation, but I
have just finished copying all that remains of the inscriptions and
paintings. A full account of the tomb will be published in an early
number of the Zeiischrift fur dgyptischc Sprache und Alterthurwkunde by
Prof. Steindorff and myself." — Percy E. Newberry, in letter from
Egypt to Academy, April 20.
THE SQUATTING SCRIBE AT GIZEH— Recent excavations by M. de
Morgan in the northern portion of the necropolis of Sakkarah have
brought to light a mastaba of fine white stone. Upon the right side
of the long corridor are two large steles, in front of each of which was
a statue. The first represented was a man seated, and was an excel-
lent piece of Egyptian portrait sculpture. The second, the new scribe,
was squatted in front of the second stele. It is about the same size as
a similar statue in the Louvre, which it resembles so closely that the
two statues might almost be described in the same terms. The new
statue, however, represents a younger Egyptian, whose muscles were
less developed. The style of this statue is that of the v dynasty, and
in technical detail approaches so closely the statue of Ranofir that we
may ascribe them to the same hand. — G. Maspero, in Mon. el Mem.
Acad. Inscr., T. I., p. 1, with fine photogravure.
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376 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
A NEW GREEK PAPYRUS. — Among the treasures acquired by Mr.
Flinders Petrie last winter in Egypt is a roll of papyrus, 44 feet long,
and covered on the recto side with 68 columns of Greek text. As
usual, the roll had been broken, so that in every column there is a gap
rather above the middle. Many of the outer or opening columns have
been hopelessly injured, but there still remains a large quantity of
text, written by several hands in a good clear writing, unmistakably of
the in century b. c. The columns have been laid down on paper by
Mr. Petrie with his usual skill, and Mr. B. P. Grenfell, who was on
the spot, undertook the decipherment and transcription. Last week
I had the opportunity of reading through and verifying with him his
very acute and careful transcription, and helping him in determining
the date and other problems which suggested themselves.
The result of our joint inquiry is so far as follows : The whole roll
contains a series of ordinances regarding the control of State monopo-
lies, and the conditions under which they were to be let to tax-farm-
ers, with reservations protecting the State from loss, the farmer and
the publican from mutual overreaching. The first nineteen columns,
which are very much destroyed, seems to contain general regulations.
Cols. 20-34 contain the regulations for the growth of vines and the
making of wine, which was all under strict supervision, in order to
protect the speculators who had bought the right of selling the wine —
in fact, the wholesale vintners — as well as the State, which claimed a
tax of one-sixth of all produce. This section concludes with formal
decrees from the sovereign. The rest of the text is concerning the
parallel regulations for oil, which are the more complicated as four
kinds of oil are concerned— those made from the sesame, from the
croton plant, from a sort of poppy and from gourds. There is no
trace of the existence of olives, or of olive oil, in the country ; but the
very strict regulations against importing foreign oil by way of Alex-
andria of Pelusiurn show that its competition was feared.
Into the details of this legislation it would not be possible to enter
without a long dissertation, and, indeed, many of them are still
obscure, though they have already thrown great light upon the prob-
lems which I have left unsolved in my Vol. n of the " Petrie Papyri."
There are several curious words, or words used in unusual senses,
which are an obstacle to our comprehension, but which will help to
extend our yet imperfect knowledge of Hellenistic Greek.
But probably the reader is already impatient that I have postponed
to this point the all-important question of date. Happily we can give
a definite answer, provided our arguments be sound. The two dates
given in the headings of ordinances are u the twenty-seventh year of
Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy, and his son Ptolemy," and the twenty-
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third year of the same reign. The occurrence of this curious formula
in the published " Petrie Papyri " (Vol. n, p. 71), among papers exclu-
sively of the second and third kings of the name; the character of
the writing and the figure 27, which is beyond the actual years of the
third Ptolemy's reign, all tend to make us assume the years 264 and
260 b. c, in the second king's reign, as those in which this great docu-
ment was written.
There are other contributory arguments. Among the twenty -seven
nomes enumerated (for the regulations extend over all Egypt) there is
no Arsinoite nome, but in the place where we should expect it the lake
is mentioned as a nome. This was the ordinary name of the Faytlm
before Queen Arsinoe founded the great new settlement of veterans
there, whose wills and other papers were published in the first volume
of the a Petrie Papyri." We find, therefore, that in the twenty-third
year of the king the nome had not yet received its new title. Unfor-
tunately, the columns under the twenty-seventh year do not refer to
it. In the twenty-ninth year the new nome was already established.
But the collecting of the sixth for Queen Philadelphus— -apparently in
honor of her deification— appears under the text of the year twenty-
three. No other queen, no titles of state, no other indication of the
reigning sovereign, are to be found. But what I have given is enough
to make us sure that we have before us the earliest papyrus of the
kind, and that it will afford us materials for determining more closely
the vexed chronology of the life of this queen, who influenced her
country more than any of her successors till we come to the notorious
Cleopatra. Parenthetically, I may add that Mr. Petrie has also
brought back a stele containing a hieroglyphic text of the same period,
in which an Egyptian high officer, a steward of the same queen, com-
memorates that he rebuilt a temple at Koptos undei4 her orders.
I propose to call this great new papyrus, the longest and fullest of
all our fiscal documents, for convenience sake, the " Monopoly Papy-
rus." It will presently be edited by Mr. Grenfell, when a good many
stray fragments will, I hope, have been set in their places, and some
puzzles in deciphering, which still remain, have been solved. Its
relations to the documents in the second volume of the "Petrie
Papyri " I shall discuss in the forthcoming appendix to that volume,
which will contain the autotypes of the narrative of the third Syrian
war. — J. P. Mahaffy, in Athenaeum, July 21.
Since then Mr. Grenfell has brought back from Egypt not only more
fragments of the great Revenue Papyrus — apparently parts of a sepa-
rate roll and much mutilated — but a number of family papers which
are of the same date and time as that now in the British Museum
(ccci) which concerns the property of a certain Druton, who lived in
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878 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOY. [Egypt.]
the latter half of the n century b. c. The document in the British
Museum is a complaint on the part of his daughter that, having
inherited jointly half his property in land, a certain Ariston has
encroached upon it, because they were women and the times were
disturbed. The magistrate to whom they appeal is Phommotis, whom
we know from other evidence to have been strategos of the Thebaid in
115 b. c. Mr. Grenfell has now found the actual will of Druton*
besides sundry contracts made by him. These documents are dated
in the early years of Soter n, the tenth kinpr, and give us the whole
series of his ancestors. Such complete series of Ptolemies have
hitherto been very rare. We find that the settlers up at Thebes
include Kretans and Persians, so that there must have been there, as
in the Faydm, a very mixed population. But oddly enough some
of the Persians of the Epigone have purely Egyptian names, and there
is even one case (Papyrus R of Mr. GrenfelFs collection) in which a
man called Nechutes, a Persian of the Epigone, is a protostolistes, and
therefore a member of the priestly hierarchy. What could be more
unexpected ?
Turning to the documents he has recovered from some papyrus
coffins in the Fay dm, and of th3 n century b. c : one (K) is pecu-
liarly interesting because it refers to the Sabbathion (Synagogue) of
Aristippos, the son of Jakoub, evidently at the village of Samaria, on
which I have commented in the u Petrie Papyri." But the Jews or
Samaritans were not confined to this province, for in another frag-
ment (0) Mr. Grenfell has found a complaint that a man has been
swindled in the purchase of a horse from a Jew called Danooul.
A good many of the difficult titles and phrases in the Petrie papyri
are repeated, and some of them will, I hope, be explained in these new
treasures. The handwritings, especially that of the will of Druton,
are very remarkable and interesting as representing a period which
was only known from the famous group of papers from the Serapeum,
and some of the older and well-known specimens at Turin, etc. The
present lot must have been found in an earthen vessel, as they are
chiefly the family papers of a single house. They will shortly be
published by Mr. Grenfell, in addition to some fragments which I
brought home in 1893, and which are hardly worth a separate work.
However, our store of Ptolemaic papyri is increasing rapidly, and
there will soon be a whole library from these pre-Christian times.
Votive Inscription. — But since Mr. Grenfell showed me his treasures
a new surprise has occurred. I had received from Egypt the squeeze
and copy of a mutilated stone found at Dim^h (in the Faydm) by
my friend Mr. Wilbour. and dated in the year 104 b. c. (Cleopatra in
and Ptolemy Alexander). The conclusions of the lines being lost, it
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[Egypt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 379
was in some cases impossible to restore the text, though the general
sense was plain. It was the votive offering of a certain Dionysius to
Isis and Harpokrates and some other god, on behalf of the queen and
kinjr, in commemoration of his having finished some road-building
operations. Upon communicating these facts to Prof. Wilcken, of
Breslau, he replied that Dr. Krebs had sent him a squeeze of another
mutilated text, containing only the ends of lines, but that he suspected
from the general tenor of both that they might fit together. As soon
as I looked at the copy of Dr. Krebs' part which Prof. Wilcken very
kindly sent me, I saw that it was so, and we have thus recovered the
whole of a very curious text, for only a letter (or two) is lost along the
fracture. Even so, there are still many problems to be solved, and I
hope to be allowed to publish the whole in the forthcoming number
of Hermathena. — J. P. Mahaffy, in Athen., June 1, 1895.
ALEXANDRIA. — Can we Expect any Discoveries? — Mr. Hogarth writes
from Alexandria on April 25, 1895: "The question whether any
notable remains can be recovered now of the great city which was the
burial-place of Alexander, the rallying centre of Greek letters, the
greatest of Jewish colonies and the most notable cradle of Christianity,
has been asked so often and met always by so uncertain a response,
that it appeared worth while to obtain even negative evidence on the
point. Although several attempts have been made by excavators,
including Dr. Schliemann, their frequent omission to publish their
results, and the unsystematic character of their work, left the problem
still open up to this season.
" In the course of two months' work I have endeavored to solve it,
and my conclusions, though negative, are definite. With the help of
Messrs. E. F. Benson and E R. Bevan, of the British School of Arch-
aeology at Athens, I have made exploratory borings about the central
quarter of the ancient city, including the region of Fort Komal Dikk,
the reputed site of the Soma, and in the eastern cemeteries. The
Service des Antiques gave us carte blanche, the military authorities
offered facilities, and private owners of land showed a readiness to
advance our exploration, for which we cannot be too grateful.
" These borings as a whole have demonstrated : —
1. That over all the central part of the Roman town there lies a
deposit from 15 to 20 feet thick, mostly composed of Arab living-
refuse, and singularly deficient in objects of interest.
2. That such remains as exist in the Roman town are in very bad
condition ; everywhere they present the appearance of having been
ruined and rifled systematically. Walls are destroyed to pavement
level and pavements ripped away.
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380 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
3. That immediately below (sometimes at or even above) the Roman
level water is tapped. Even tombs are found now to be below the
inundated line. The soil must have subsided, and the stratum, earlier
than Roman, be submerged for the most part. Neither in this stratum,
therefore, nor in that immediately above, which is still very damp,
can papyri be expected for one moment. The fact of such subsidence
is proved amply by the aspect of the foreshore of the Great Harbor.
The foundation-courses of large buildings, not earlier than Roman,
gleam in the sea, and the low cliff, composed entirely of debris, shows
sections of Roman walls and pavements right down to water-level.
"The state in which we find the central quarter accords exactly
with the known fact of the destruction of the Brachium in the time of
Aurelian. In St. Jerome's day the one rich Quarter was no more
than a refuge for hermits; and St. John Chrysostom, when he said
that the Tomb of Alexander was as though it had never been, seems
to have spoken sober truth. The local collections of antiquities and
reports obtained from local savants, builders, contractors for drainage
works and the like, all demonstrate that up to now nothing first-
rate of the Greek or Grseco-Roman period has been unearthed in
Alexandria, and very little that is even second-rate. The reward of
tomb-riflers in recent times has been the leavings of earlier riflers;
and ruined walls at pavement level, and the most broken of debris,
have constituted the only return for the money and time spent in
excavation in the town itself.
" I feel convinced that no great mine of museum-treasures remains
to be explored under Alexandria; that its libraries have perished
utterly ; that all that exists of its Mausolea is plundered ruin ; that
the glories of the former foreshore are now represented by shoals in
the port, and that its great temples, passing into churches and
mosques, have been robbed of all they once possessed of value or
beauty. The site is much over-built and very expensive to work, and
no one could conscientiously recommend a foreign society to expend
its funds upon it.
u Nevertheless, there are topographical results to be gained still,
which are much to be desired. It will never be possible to write the
history of the city until far more is known of its ancient plan than
the investigations of Mahmud Bey el Fallaki supply. The laudable
efforts of Signor Botti, director of the local Museum, have been directed
to topographical ends for the past two years ; and from the nature of
the site the prosecution of these valuable researches is best left in local
hands. Bit by bit, little by little, the map must be made, by watch-
ing here the foundation of a house, there the demolition of another, etc.
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[Egxpt.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 881
" I hope to furnish shortly a detailed report giving grounds for the
general conclusions expressed here, and dealing with exploration in
Alexandria in recent years, and more particularly that diligently con-
ducted by Signor Botti." — D. G. Hogarth, in Academy, May 18, 1895.
DEFENNEH.— In the Jahrbuch Arch. Inst. (1895, pp. 35-46), F. Dumm-
mler writes of The Greek Vases of Tell Defenneh, published in Ant
Denkm., II pi. 21 (nine cuts). Aside from importations, the vases of
Daphnse fall into two classes. The first consists only of siiulae of
yellowish grey, ill-worked clay, from which the coloring has frequently
flaked off. The style of ornamentation reminds one somewhat of
" Rhodian " vases, though direct imitation is not to be assumed. The
second class consists of vaaes of various shapes, the amphora being
most common. In manufacture and decoration these are far superior
to th^first class, and show the influence of Ionia where rapid devel-
opment took place in the first half of the vi century.
DEIR-ELpBAHARI. — Clearing of the Temple. — Mr. Naville writes : " The
clearing of the Temple of Deir-el-Bahari is practically finished. This
great work has extended over nearly three winters, and has occupied
215 working days. The very last days of the excavation have been
productive of interesting results. In the sanctuary a heavy lintel,
thrown down by mummy diggers, nearly closed the entrance from the
first chamber to the second. This lintel has been raised and the door
rebuilt I was thus enabled to clear the first hall of the sanctuary
down to the pavement, as well as the two next chambers. In doing
so I discovered an interesting piece of sculpture, a great part of which
has unfortunately been destroyed by the Copts. It shows the garden
of the temple, the ponds of water in the neighborhood, and the fishes,
birds and water-plants living in them. Curiously, these ponds — of
which there are four — are called l the ponds of milk, which are on
both sides of this god [Amon] when he rests in his temple.' One
may wonder how it was possible to have ponds and a garden in such
a desolate place as Deir-el-Bahari, at a mile distance from the nearest
well in the cultivated land. I have not found any traces of the ponds,
but I |have proofs that vegetation was artificially sustained. On the
lower platform there are several round pits sunk into the rock to a
depth of about ten feet. They are full of Nile mud, hardened by the
watering of the palm-trees or the vines planted in them. Several of
the stumps were found in situ. The natives told me that there are a
great number of these pits, which they call sagyiehs, along the avenue
where the Sphinxes stood. It is not impossible that in the old times
the Sphinxes couched under the shade of palm-trees and tamarisks,
like the rams in front of the Pylons of the temples at Karnak.
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882 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLQQY. [Eotpt.]
" An interesting work, which will have to be done next winter, now
that the clearing is finished, is the sorting of the inscribed and sculp-
tured stones, and, if possible, replacing them in their original posit-
ions. Coptic walls will have to be taken down, as the inhabitants of
the convent have made the most barbarous use of interesting and fine
sculptures. In the first year of the work I discovered a block belong-
ing to a representation, at present unique, of an obelisk being trans-
ported on a large boat. Its forepart only could be seen. Later on I
found the rudder of the boat, but the middle part was still missing.
It has now been found. The obelisk is seen nearly in its whole
length ; it is tied to its sledge by a long parallel rope, and at regular
intervals by cross-ropes over each of the wedges on which the heavy
monument rests. Another sculpture, the blocks which have been
found in the basement of the Coptic tower, shows ft sitting colossus on
a boat towed along the river by two barges with many rowers. As we
know where this sculpture belongs, it will be easy to put it back again.
" Where was the tomb of Hatshepsu ? is a question that has often
been asked. I am now able to point to a place, of which I shall not
yet venture to say more than that it is not improbable that it was her
tomb. In the passage between the retaining wall of the middle plat-
form and the enclosure we came upon an inclined plane, cut in the
rock and leading to the entrance of a large tomb. The rubbish was
untouched; the slope had evidently been made for a large stone
coffin. Everything seemed most promising ; but when we had passed
the entrance, we got into a long sloping shaft reaching nearly under
the Hathor shrine. The shaft ended in a large chamber, in the mid-
dle of which lay a quite plain wooden rectangular coffin, containing
bones, and bearing only a few hieratic signs. Evidently this tomb
had not been made for so poor a burial ; and as there were no signs
of plundering, the natural conclusion is that the corpse for which it
was destined never was put into it. If we remember the hatred with
which Thothmes in pursued his aunt's memory — his efforts not only
to wipe away the record of her life, but even to annihilate her ka, her
'double' in the other world — can we suppose that he would have
allowed her body to be buried sumptuously in the tomb which she
had prepared? Would he not rather have destroyed her body or
deprived her of burial? It is, therefore, not impossible that this tomb,
discovered in the passage close to the Hathor shrine, was that which
Hatshepsu had prepared for herself.
" The day before the date I had fixed for closing the work — while
completing the clearing of the same passage — quite unexpectedly the
workmen came upon a large foundation deposit in a small rock-cut
pit, about three feet deep. The pit was covered with mats, under
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[Eotpt.} ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 883
which lay first a few pots of common earthenware ; afterwards, about
fifty wooden objects, the models of an implement, the use of which I
do not understand, and which we will call for the present winnowers.
Each one of them bears the inscription : ' The good god Ramaka, the
worshipper of Amon-el-Teren (Deir-el-Bahari) ' ; then we took out
fifty wooden hoes, four bronze slabs, a hatchet, a knife, eight wooden
models of adzes and eight large adzes with bronze blades; at the
bottom ten little pots of alabaster, and also ten little baskets, which I
regard as moulds for bread. All the wooden or bronze objects, and
also the alabaster pots, bear the same inscription. These things have
no artistic beauty ; there is no precious metal or stone among them ;
but they are interesting as historical evidence. They are very similar
to a set of deposits of Thothmes in, discovered by Mariette at Karnak,
and now exhibited in the Gizeh Museum.
u The principal work of next winter will consist in repairing and
propping up walls which would go to ruin, and also in putting in
their places all the inscriptions which we may be able to reconstitute.
Hitherto travelers have often left Deir-el-Bahari unvisited ; it is now
one of the most interesting sites on the west of Thebes." — Edouard
Naville, in Academy, April 13.
ESNEH.— Coptic Churches. — Prof. Sayce writes: A week before my
arrival at Esneh a curious discovery had been made by the fellahin
about a mile west of the Mohammedan tombs, which stand on the
edge of the desert behind the town. They found there two subter-
ranean Coptic churches, and what was apparently the house of the
priest, also subterranean, and all, of course, now buried under the
sand. Such subterranean buildings must be of early date, as they
imply that the Christians had to conceal themselves from persecution.
Mr. Dienisch took me to see them, and he found that since his pre-
vious visit, six days before, Mohammedan fanaticism had already
defaced or destroyed most of the saints' heads which covered the east
wall of one of the churches. Fortunately, Mr. Mallett, who has
nearly accomplished his arduous task of copying the hieroglyphic
texts in the temple of Esneh, accompanied Mr. Dienisch on his first
visit and copied the Coptic inscriptions. The paintings which remain
are still as fresh as when they were first made, and are excellent
specimens of Byzantine work. One representing the Virgin and Child
is especially good, though it will probably have been destroyed by
the Mohammedan iconoclasts before this letter reaches England. One
of the churches seems to have been dedicated to St. Eenas, and in the
east wall of the priest's house is an oratory.
Cairn Tombs.— Some four miles further west in the desert we came
across a large number of tombs in the shape of huge cairns of un-
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884 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Egypt.]
wrought stones, which must have been brought from a considerable
distance. I shall have something to say about these extraordinary
monuments in another letter, and will now only add that a little to
the north of the Mohammedan tombs a cemetery of the sacred laius
fish has been discovered, and scores of mummied fish are lying there
on the ground. The cemetery is not more than a quarter of a mile
from the spot where, according to the French map, the northern
temple of Esneh formerly stood. — Academy, March 23, 1895.
Prof. Sayce adds in a letter dated Cairo, April 17, that the stones of
which these cairns are built must have been brought from the moun-
tains some miles to the west. Mr. Floyer has discovered similar
cairns opposite Gebelen, but they appear to be of small size. It is
difficult to conjecture when and by whom such cairns were erected.
In those opened by Mr. Floyer, nothing was found except a few bones,
not even some implements. — Academy, March 23 and May 4.
HE88EH. — Prof. Sayce writes: "On the island of Hesseh, south of
Bigeh and Philae, Lord Amherst of Hackney and myself made a dis-
covery of some interest. On the western side of the island is a
hieroglyphic stele, inscribed in the words : ' Pe-Hor, governor of the
land of the Temple,' from which it may be inferred that a temple
once existed there. Tombs of the Roman period also exist on the
western side of the island, as well as at its southern end, where the
natives have disinterred a stone sarcophagus. Those on the west are
excavated in the rock in the form of square chambers, the mummies
of the dead being buried in them in sarcophagi, sometimes of stone,
sometimes of terracotta. A libation table supported on obelisks of
stone was placed by the side of it. The tombs, however, were after-
wards re-used by the Copts, a number of corpses being crammed into
a single tomb. In one of them Mr. Newman picked up a fragment of
a Demotic inscription; in another Lord Amherst found part of a
libation-table in honor of the son of the Nubian ' chief' Mesta-Khnumr
who died at an early age.
" Lord Amherst took me to see the tombs, and we then explored
the northern end of the island. Here we found more tombs, this
time of vaulted brick on stone basements, and below them, not far
from the i bab ' of the Cataract, was the site of a temple which had
subsequently been converted into a Coptic church. The altar of the
church had been supported on an upturned granite pedestal, on one
side of which were cavities for the feet of three statues, while on
another I found a Greek and a Demotic inscription. The Greek
reads : —
(1) BA5IAEATTT0AEMAI0N KAI BA5IAI55AN KAEOTTATPAN.
(2) 0EOY5 4>IAOMHTOPA5 KAI TTTOAEMAION TON YION AYTQN.
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[Turns.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 385
Then comes three erased lines, over which has been engraved in large
letters : 1515 K Al QP05. Next follow two lines of Demotic, the second
of which has been erased, and the first (which is a translation of the
Greek) ends with the names of * Isis and Horos.'
u Here, then, we have a memorial of the ill-starred Ptolemy Eupator,
who must have been a boy at the time the monument was made, as
the cavity in which his statue stood, between those of his father and
mother, is of relatively small size.
" Bases of royal statues with Greek inscriptions are rare in Egypt:
indeed, I know of only one other, which is now in the Museum of
Alexandria. Curiously enough, this also is dedicated to Philometor
(though not to his son and wife), while there are traces of erased lines,
in place of which the names of Isis and Horos have been engraved.
Could this monument have originally come from Hesseh? At all
events it would appear that the temple of Hesseh was dedicated to
Isis and Horos."
LAKE MOERIS.— In the Rev. Critique, 1894, n, p. 73, M. Maspero
treats of the question of Lake Moeris, in which once again he rejects
the hypothesis of Linant, almost universally admitted. He concludes:
" The entire structure of theories to explain classical Moeris rests upon
a single text, that of Herodotos. Other authors merely reproduce
Herodotos in applying to Birket K6ro(in what Herodotos had said of
Moeris. Herodotos had seen the Fayoum at the time of the inunda-
tion ; he had mistaken for an artificial lake, serving as a reservoir, the
whole extent of water comprised between the dykes which enclosed
the basin of the Fayoum."— Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 126.
TUNI8.
THE HIPPODROME OF DOUGGA. — Northwest of the ruins of Dougga,
some hundreds of metres from the enclosing wall of the acropolis, is a
long rectangular field of well defined limits. A long wall carefully
built indicates the presence here of a considerable structure in
antiquity. The purpose of this building was for a long time doubt-
ful, but now may be recognized as the site of an ancient hippodrome.
Here may be seen the rounded extremities of the spina, also the
podium behind which were the spectators' seats. The spina was about
180 m. long, so that the course for the races was in length one stadion.
Some fragmentary inscriptions' were also found. This hippodrome
dates from the years 223-225, within a century of which time there
arose in the neighborhood of Dougga many buildings whose ruins
make this part of Africa one of the richest fields for the archeeologist.
— Dr. Carton, in Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, p. 229.
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386 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Tripoli]
TRIPOLI.
THE MAUSOLEUM OF EL'AMROUN I.— Tripoli has recently furnished
a monument which recalls in some measure the celebrated mausoleum
of Dougga. It is a tomb decorated with basreliefs, bearing a double
inscription— Neo-Punic and Latin. It was discovered at a place
called El'Amrouni, half way between Doutrat and N&lout, on the
ancient Roman road from Tunis to Ghadames. The ruins were
buried in the sand in the neighborhood of other tombs of less impor-
tance. Only the base composed of four large steps was still in
place ; all the upper portion had fallen down and the materials were
buried. After careful excavations some thirty pieces of cut stone
were recovered, consisting of mouldings, sculptures and reliefe in a
remarkable state of preservation. The monument was formerly
about 16 m. high. It was composed of two stages surmounted by a
pyramid. The tomb chamber contained four niches, and was entirely
filled with sand. The mausoleum was quadrangular, the east and
the west bases being larger than the north and south.
The eastern facade presented at the base a small door which entered
a small room. At the first story between two Corinthian pilasters
was a basrelief representing the departed and his wife. Immediately
above was a Latin inscription, then a Neo Punic inscription, and
finally the upper basrelief. The basrelief representing Orpheus charm-
ing the animals, and higher up a relief representing Orpheus and
Eurydike. The north and south sides were apparently decorated each
by a single relief representing Orpheus rescuing Eurydike and Hera-
kles rescuing Alkestis from Hades. Two inscriptions are the same,
though in different languages. The Latin inscription reads :
DIS • MANIBVS • SAC •
Q APVLEVS • MAXSSIMVS •
QVI • ET • RIDEVS • VOCABA
TVR ' IVZALE • F • IVRATHE • N •
VIX • AN * LXXXX • THAN V BRA •
CONIVNX • ET • PVDENS • ET • SE
VERVS • ET • MAXSIMV8 • F •
PIISSIMI • P • AMANTI8SIMO • S • P • F
M. de Villefosse has called attention to the fact that these episodes
from the history of Orpheus recall the words of St. Augustine in the
Civitas Dei (xvni, 14). The interest of these reliefe is increased by the
Neo-Punic inscription accompanying them, which is the first Phoeni-
cian inscription discovered as far south in Africa. — Philippe Berger,
in Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 71.
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MEGALITHIC REMAINS.— Mr. Cowper writes from Malta, April 11,
1895, that he has just spent a fortnight in the Tripolitan range of
hills examining a large and most interesting series of ancient remains.
The importance of the series lies mainly in the elaborate character of
the remains and their abundance, which prove them to be the ves-
tiges of an important and an almost unknown civilization. " Our
present knowledge of these remains appears to be derived from
two sources. First from the researches of the traveler Barth, who
traveled in both Jebel Tarhuna and Jebel Gharian, but whose aim
was not primarily the examination of antiquities. He mentions and
gives some brief description of about eight sites, but passed within a
short distance of many others which he did not examine. The second
traveler who has mentioned the subject was the unfortunate Von
Bary, who died in 1877 at Ghat. He has left a paper in the transac-
tions of a German society, translated into French in the Reme
d?Ethnographie} unillustrated in the last, and, I believe, also in the
first-named publication. In this paper he has given some notes on
about thirteen sites which he visited.
" The sites which I have been able to visit number in all about
sixty, which include most of those mentioned by Barth and Von
Bary. Numerous others I saw at a distance or heard of, but found no
opportunity of visiting.
" The remains in question appear to be found all over Tarhuna, and
to reach into the more mountainous district of Gharian. The more
complete examples consist of rectangular enclosures, well built of
dressed stone, divided by lines of square columns, and including one
or several megalithic monuments like enormous doorways, which are
formed of jambs or uprights, with a cross stone at the top. These
monuments are often, but by no means always, trilithons. They
vary from 8 ft. to 17 ft. in height, and among the Arabs are known as
8enamSj i. e., idols. These senarm are not orientated, and an especially
puzzling feature consists of square holes which are in all cases cut into
either jamb at regular intervals. What the original use of these
monuments was must be a matter for future consideration, for a
peculiar feature of them is the narrowness of the passage between the
jambs, which almost precludes the possibility of their really being
doorways, as at first sight they appear. There is, however, often on
one side of them, facing the passage, a large fiat stone, flush with the
ground and grooved in a peculiar way which leaves little doubt that
it was an altar. There are, besides, one or two other peculiar types of
stone which continually occur, and which are much more mysterious.
Stones with pit markings, generally seven square, are also common. I
have further been fortunate enough to find four stones with carvings,
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B88 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOGY. [Babylonia.]
which without doubt belong to the same period. One of these at
Kssea has been mentioned, and also engraved by Barth, but his en-
graving is not very trustworthy. The other three have never before
been noticed.
u These sites are so numerous that in parts of Tarhuna there are
few slight eminences which do not bear the traces of one of these
temples. Wherever a door (at present I have no better word) remains
standing or fallen the place is called a senam, but where there is no
trace of one of these they are simply known as beni (or buni) gedim
•(old buildings.) The numerous Roman ruins in the vicinity are
classed by the Arabs under the same head.
" These megalithic temples (for temples I cannot doubt they were)
-are of an earlier period than the Roman, for the senams were smashed
and built into Roman edifices. Moreover, the temples were con-
tinually altered and rebuilt by the Romans, who adopted them for
their own uses. In these Roman buildings the doorways were often
preserved, and there is reason to believe that in more modern times
either superstition or other motive among the people has in some
degree helped to protect them from destruction.
"Of all the sites I visited I took measurements or made rough
sketch plans, and also took photographs, which will, I hope, suf-
ficiently show the character of the remains. Were it not for the
restrictions placed by the Turkish authorities for the last fifteen years
upon Europeans wishing to enter the country, it is probable that
these ruins would be now to some extent known.
" One word more. My acquaintance with the megalithic remains of
Algeria is nil; but I have reason to believe that the senams and temples
of the senam period of Tripoli evince marks of a much higher and
more elaborate civilization than the Algerian series. The megalithic
remains of Mnaidra and Hajiar Kym, in Malta, which are well known,
certainly belong to a far ruder type, and though it would be rash to
say that there is no connection between these remains and those of
Tripoli, it is, at any rate, certain that the connection is not intimate."
— H. S. Cowper, in Athenaeum, May 18, 1895.
ASIA.
BABYLONIA.
EARLY ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.— On the 29th of AugU8t,
11,542 b. c, the star of Sirius or Sothis was visible during an eclipse
of the sun. M. Oppert, who is the author of this calculation, thinks
that this phenomenon, which was the ground for the Sothic cycles,
was observed in the Island of Tylos, in the Persian Gulf, the cradle of
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[Babylonia.] ARCHJEOLOQ1CAL NEJ/(S. 889
Chaldaean civilization. We would have then in this by far the most
ancient date known to history. To this Salomon Reinach replies that
it seems unscientific to put humanity, that is to say civilization, at
such an early period, since humanity must have been very civilized
in order to observe such an astronomical phenomenon and to pre-
serve the remembrance of it. — Rev. Arch,, 1895, p. 123.
THE NUDE FEMALE FIGURE NOT OF BABYLONIAN ORIGIN.— At a re-
cent meeting of the Acadfanie des Inscriptions, M. Salomon Reinach
read a paper upon the representation of female nudity in Greek and
Eastern art. His main object was to disprove the generally received
theory that nudity in classic art is ultimately derived from a Baby-
lonian source, the image of the goddess Istar. He maintained that
there was no nude divinity in the Babylonian pantheon. Istar, as a
warrior goddess, is represented clothed and in armor ; if she disrobes
herself for her descent into hell, that is her humiliation. On the
other hand, there has been found in the Archipelago and at Troy,
dating from about 1200 b. c, statuettes of nude females, and a very
ancient tumulus in Thrace has furnished a similar example. We
know that there existed at the same period in the Greek islands
statues of women of life-size, one of which is now preserved at Athens.
M. Reinach suggested that some of these statues might have been
carried up from the coast by a Babylonian conqueror, and then be-
come objects of worship. In this way he would explain the presence
on cylinders of a nude goddess, who is sometimes placed upon a
pedestal. It was, then, from prehistoric Greece that the type of nude
divinities penetrated to Babylonia; the same type maintained itself
in Phoenicia, whence it passed back to historic Greece, and so to
Rome. — Academy, May 4, 1895.
Since then M. Reinach has published his paper in the Revue Archk-
obgique.
TELLO 3IRPURLA.— The Silver Vase of an Early King. — We have already
referred in the Journal to a silver vase found by M. de Sarzec during
his excavations at Tello in 1888. It has only recently been cleaned
by M. Heuzey, who has studied it in the museum at Constantinople,
and publishes an article upon it in the Monuments et Memoires, T. II,
pp. 5-28. This vase, which is the only object in precious metal thus
far found at Tello, is the earliest object of its kind in existence, as it
dates from about 4000 b. c, if not earlier. In form it is extremely
beautiful, reminding of a certain type of Chinese or Japanese vases
of ovoidal shape, resting upon a four-footed base and ending in a
plain straight mouth. Its technique is also perfect. It is beaten
into its form out of a single sheet of silver, and French experts
in metal declare that they could not do better at present Its
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390 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Babylonia.)
total height is 35 cm. Its diameter is 18 cm. Its form is that of a
jar, or to use the corresponding Greek term, piihos. It has no handles.
The most interesting part of the vase is the series of figures incised in
the metal, which were brought to light by M. Heuzey's patient handi-
work. Encircling the centre of the body of the vase is a broad band
on which is reproduced four times the group which has been identi-
fied by him as the coat-of-arms of the city Sirpurla. Is is a lion-
headed eagle facing the spectator with outspread wings and holding
with his extended claws two lions passant This exact group is
seen on a number of basreliefs found at Tello, one of which was
illustrated by M. Heuzey in the first number of the Afomments et
Memoires. The lion-headed eagle represents the city subduing its ene-
mies in the shape of lions. In two out of the four cases the lions are
replaced by other animals: once by two deer and once by two wild
goats. In the former M. Heuzey would see typified the field inhabi-
tants of the plain and in the latter the hardy mountaineers. The
principle of symmetrical and alternating repetition which is exempli-
fied in these four groups is thoroughly Asiatic and different from the
spirit of Egyptian art, and it is interesting to find it at the very
beginning of Babylonian civilization. A similar principle is exempli-
fied on the narrow point immediately above the main decoration.
Upon it are outlined seven reclining cows with right fore-leg extended
and raised head. Here we find the principle of repetition and the
first type of an idea which was handed down to the Assyrians and the
Greeks of zones of animals, the best example of which are found on
Assyrian shields and Phoenician dishes and Greek vases. Besides
these two rows of subjects, the vase bears an inscription by which this
vase is dedicated to the god Nin Ghirsu by Entemena, the Patesi or
high priest of Sirpurla. The inscription would lead one to believe
that this vase was but part of the treasury of similar objects dedicated
by this ruler to the god. Now, Entemena is the fourth king in direct
descent from Ur Nina, who was the founder of the local dynasty.
This ruler is regarded by M. Heuzey as considerably earlier than Sar-
gon i, whose date is 3800 b. c. This he regards as proved by the earlier
character of the monuments of these early rulers of Sirpurla, when
compared with monuments of Sargon i and Naramsin. The animals
outlined upon the vase are executed with remarkable skill, as long as
they are given in profile. As is customary with the early Babylonian
artist, the forms are made heavy in contrast to the lightness of Egyp-
tian art. The outlines of the animals, of course, are especially true to
nature, but the artist failed directly when he attempted, as early
Babylonian artists seem to have been fond of doing, to execute the
full face. This he does in the case of the lions and the lion-headed
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[Babylonia.] ARCHMOLOQICAL NEWJS. 391
eagles with disastrous results. He is very fond of giving the details
of both the mane of the lions and the wings of the eagles, though other-
wise he confines himself to a slight indication of some of the muscles.
FOUNOATION STONES OF EANNADU.— At a meeting of the Acadhnie
des Inscriptions M. Heuzey read a paper upon some Chaldamn monu-
ments of great antiquity, of which he had received impressions from
M. de Sarzec. In particular he dealt with two foundation-stones, upon
which Eannadu, the warrior of the Column of the Vultures, had in-
scribed a history of his reign. One of these contains no less than 150
compartments of writing. Beside the long religious litanies, which
comprise almost the entire literature of this remote epoch, ttase annals
are at present the only contemporary historical documents that we
possess. It appears that Eannadu had worked hard to expand and
^fortify the towns or detached quarters which formed the agglomera-
tion of Sirpurla, particularly Uruazagga, u the holy city." The cata-
logue of his conquests includes the countries of Elam and Isban, his
traditional enemies, and ataV the historic cities of Erech, Ur and the
City of the Sun (evidently Tarsam). Mention is made of an alliance
between some of thtese with the land of Kisb. On the Column of the
Vultures, Eannadu beass the style of King of Sirpurla, which he also
gives to his father Akurgal and his grandfather Ur-nina ; but on the
foundation-stones he only uses, for them as well as for himself, the
religious title of patesi, which he boasts to have been invested with by
Istar, the goddess of battles. These statements throw light upon the
theocratic character of early Chaldsean civilization, while they show
the important part that Sirpurla played from the beginning of history.
—Academy, May 18, 1895.
A NEW ASSYRIAN STELE. — In Vol. xvi of Maspero's Recueil de Trav-
aux, Father V. Scheil, writing from Mossoul on May 21, 1894, pub-
lishes a cuneiform text of great importance. It is a stele of B61-
kharran-bSl-usur, admirably described by the learned writer, whose
introduction, transcription and notes are excellent at such a distance
from literary apparatus. Destined apparently for Constantinople, we
owe the Reverend Father warm thanks for apprising us so quickly of
its contents. There can be no question of its value for an estimate of
the internal affairs of Assyria.
While we know that the greater officials of the kingdom and the
prefects of the chief cities took their turns with the king himself in
giving name to the year, and while here and there we had glimpses of
generals and ministers, as a rule all were eclipsed by the glory of the
monarch. The tone of many of the dispatches sent to the kings of
Assyria is far from subservient ; but though all along we have sus-
pected that the empire was not the creation of the king and that his
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392 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Babylohia.]
power was founded on the ability of his subordinates, he usually
omits to state his indebtedness.
In this inscription of B6i-kharran-b£l-usur (Eponym in 741 b. a
and again in 727 b. c.) we see somewhat behind the scenes. Of this
officer little is known beyond what he tells us here himself. As nagir
£kalli he ranks next to the Tartan Nabft-danin-ani under Tiglath-
Pileser m, and later as prefect of Gozan at the accession of Shalmane-
ser iv. His name also occurs on a mutilated tablet, K. 12990, in
the British Museum (Bezold Cat., K. Coll., Vol. ni) and possibly else-
where.
His own record is remarkable. He founds a city, builds and endows
its temple, gives it a constitution, supplies it with roads, apparently
on his own initiative, at his own expense and without any reference
to his monarch beyond a formal acknowledgment of his subordinate
rank. He calls his city after his own name ; he blesses the successor
who shall respect his monuments and the freedom of his city on the
one hand, while he curses the careless or mischievous custodian of
posterity on the other with a regal grace. His reference to his position
as due not solely to Tiglath-Pileser, but to " his lords in their high
commission and assured favor," seems to point to something short of
absolute monarchy. Perhaps at that time the king was only primus
inter pares; and it is at least noteworthy that Tiglath-Pileser takes
care to record that certain of his conquests were assigned to the
province of the Tartan or of the Rab-bi-lul, a compliment subsequent
monarchs do not find it necessary to pay.
Father ScheiFs transcription of the text, as he publishes it, is very
doubtful in places, and his version does not agree perfectly with either.
The text, if correctly copied, was carelessly inscribed, so I append a
new version of the text, with some notes explanatory of my rendering,
trying to be as literal as possible : —
1. Marduk, great lord, king of the gods, holder of the ends of heaven
and earth,
2. Populator of cities, establisher of towns, universal ordainer of the
temples of the gods ;
3. Nabuft, scribe of the gods, wielder of the glorious tablet-style,
bearer. of the tablet of the destiny of the gods,
4. Director of the Igigi and the Anunnaki, donor of sustenance, giver
of life ;
5. Samas, light of the lands, judges of all cities, protection of regions ;
6. Sin, bright shiner of heaven and earth, bearer of the upraised
horns, who clothes himself with brightness ;
7. iStar of the stars, brightness of heaven, to whom prayer is univer-
sally good, who receives petitions.
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(Persia.] ARCHJE0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 898
8. The great gods, to all of them, hearers of his prayer, his helpers,
his lords :
9. B6l-kharran-b£l-u«ur, nagir of the palace of Tiglath-Pileser, king
of Assyria, venerator of the great gods,
10. There sent me forth the mighty lords with their high commission
and assured favor.
11. A city in the wilds and the wastes I chose, from its foundation to
its roofs, verily I finished.
12. A temple I made, and the shrine of the great gods therein I raised.
13. Its temen, I like a piler of a mountain founded, I settled its foun-
dation for ever and ever,
14. Dur-B61-kharran-b61-usur, in the tongue of the people, I called its
name, I directed roads to it,
15. An inscription I wrote, and the image of the gods on the top I
made, in the dwelling of the divinity I set up
16. Endowments, sacrifices, incense for those gods I established for
ever.
17. Who ever hereafter that ASSur, Samas, Marduk and Ramm&n, shall
graciously name and send there.
18. Restore the ruins of the city, of this temple, the endowments and
sacrifices of those gods thou shalt not discontinue,
19. Of that city its freedom I made, its crops shall not be torn up, its
corn shall not be trodden down, etc.
— C. H. W. Johns, in Academy, July 6, 1895.
PERSIA.
8A8SANIAN VASES AT ST. PETERSBURG.— The Museum of the Herm-
itage has been enriched by the addition of seven plates and six silver
•cups discovered in the region of Perm and Viatak. One find made
near the river Tomis consisted of five plates, four cups and six neck-
laces. This included one plate of Byzantine workmanship (v-vi cent.
a. d.) with Greek marks of manufacture not yet deciphered. All the
other silver vessels are Sassanian. They consisted of: (1) The image
of a ram in a park ; (2) a lion devouring a stag ; (3) a royal huntsman
mounted, attacked by wild beasts. The king wears a head-dress like
that of Sapor. In the lower portion of this plate may be distinguished
a Pali inscription, not yet deciphered ; (4) a plate with the image of a
woman clothed in a long robe seated upon a winged monster and
playing upon a wind instrument. On the other side of the plate a Pali
inscription, which has not yet been deciphered ; (5) a plate with the
image of two warriors clad in scaled breast-plates; one makes use of a
bow, the other of a javelin. On the ground are two small round
shields, two axes, two broken swords, as if this was the last episode of
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394 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Palbstih*.]
a long fight. M; Smirnow, who has written an account of these plates,
thinks that the explanation of this one may be found in Persian
poetry. Amongst the other objects may be cited a cup, the handle of
which is ornamented with the image of a bearded Persian with ear-
rings,- also several cups decorated with various motives, such as pea-
cocks, birds amongst serpents, etc. — Rev. Arch-, 1895, p. 129.
SAPOR AND VALERIAN.-— In May, 1893, the Cabinet des M&lailles was
enriched by the addition of an ancient cameo of unusual interest to-
antiquarians and historians. The stone is a sardonyx of three layers,
the base is dark brown, the middle layer on which the relief is carved
is pale white ; the upper layer, which is utilized for the definition of
certain details, is russet color. The stone is in the shape of an ellipse-
Its two diameters are 103 mm. and 68 mm. and its thickness 9 mm.,
being one of the largest ancient cameos in existence. It represents a
Persian king of the Sassanian dynasty on horseback taking prisoner
a Roman emperor, who is also mounted and defending himself. The
helmet of the Persian king is surmounted by a large globe, which
according to Adrien de Longperier was a symbol of the solar sphere.
His shoulders are surmounted by smaller globes. Pendant bands
flutter from his diadem and. girdle. .The Roman, emperor, beardless,
is crowned with laurel. He wears a breastplate and the paludamentum
flutters behind his back. He brandishes the parazonium above hia
head, while the Persian king makes no use of his sword. It was in
the year 250 of our era in the neighborhood of Edessa that the emperor
Valerian was taken prisoner by surprise by Sapor i, son of Artaxerxes.
This event made a great stir in the Oriental world, perhaps much
more amongst the Romans, and has been recounted by various
authors. Valerian was the only one of the Roman or Byzantine
emperors who was taken prisoner by the Persians. In the year 260r
when this event took place, he was sixty-seven years of age. Sapor i>.
who was crowned in the year 242 and died in 272 or 273, was also an.
old man. The identity of the Roman emperor and of the Persian
king is confirmed by numismatics, and the Persian triumph is repre^
sented also in reliefs at Naksche roustem. Sassanian cameos are few
in number and are frequently attributed to Greek or Byzantine
sculptors in the service of the Persians. It seems probable, however,,
that this art survived amongst the Persians as an inheritance from
Babylonia and Assvria. — Ernest Babelon, in Mon. et Mem. Acad. Inscr.y.
T. I, p. 85.
PALE8TINE.
NEW MILE-STONES. — The Dominican fathers have discovered at
Bettir the most ancient mile-stone of the region, dating 130 a. d. It
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[Palestine.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 395
is the eighth on the road leading from Jerusalem to Eleutheropolis.
In the same district there has been found the epitaph of a legionary,
of which P. Germer-Durand has given a new transcription. The
mile-stone in the neighborhood of Jerusalem dates from the Kaliphate
of Abd-el-melik, and oontains the most ancient Arabic inscription
which has diacritical points. Together with this document M. Cler-
mont-Genneau communicates a dedication by the x legion Preterms
to Trajan and a mile-stone of Adjloun, with the name of the legate, P.
Julius Germinius Marcianus, 162 a. d. At Gerasa there has been
found a dedication to Antoninus and two other texts ; one of them
mentions the date 294, which corresponds nearly to the year 215 a. d.
At Mzerib several texts have been copied, one of which is in verse.
Another metrical epitaph has been found at Nawa, which contains a
mention of Alkinoos. — Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 121.
EXPLORATION OF MOAB. — During the winter months, when excava-
tion becomes difficult or impossible at Jerusalem, Dr. Bliss received
the sanction of the Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund to
undertake a journey to the Land of Moab, including the examination
of Medeba, Kerak and other places of historical interest beyond the
Dead Sea. Dr. Bliss had the special advantage of a letter of recom-
mendation from Hamdy Bey, director of the Museum of Constantino-
ple. He was received most cordially by the governor of Kerak, and
was afforded the fullest permission to measure and make plans of
buildings, to copy inscriptions, etc. Among other things, he dis-
covered a previously unkuown Roman fort and a walled town with
towers and gates like the interesting town of M'Shfta. After a journey
of very great interest he got back to Jerusalem on April 2, and at once
resumed the work of excavation. The committee have appointed
Mr. Archibald Campbell Dickie, a trained architect, to assist Dr.
Bliss in this work, especially in drawing plans, sections, etc. He has
already arrived in Jerusalem. — Academy, April 27.
JERUSALEM. — History of the Holy Sepulchre. — Mr. George Jeffery,
F.R.I.B.A., has published at Jerusalem a series of plans and sketches
intended to illustrate the architectural history of the buildings on the
site of the Holy Sepulchre, as described by the earlier pilgrims. The
plans have been made from actual measurement on the spot, so far as
the difficult nature of the work permits, infinite trouble having been
caused by complicated proprietorship and by sectarian prejudices.
Much assistance has been derived from the recent discoveries of Herr
Schick, which have demonstrated the position of the much-disputed
Second Wall. The method adopted by Mr. Jeffery is to work back-
wards chronologically. He starts with a plan of the buildings as they
were left by the Crusaders in the xn century, which is practically
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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY, [Asia Minor.}
identical with their present condition, except for the absence of the-
modern sectarian partitions and a few restorations. Next we have a
plan of the (xi century) buildings of Constantino Monomachus, as
described by Saewulf in 1102, before their destruction by the Cru-
saders ; then the (vn century) buildings of Modestus, as described by
Arculf and Willibald, and finally the (iv century; basilica of Constan-
tino, conjecturally restored from the descriptions of Eusebius and
Saint Sylvia. To this last is added a reproduction of the apse mosaic
in S. Pudenziana in Rome, which may possibly be a contemporary
representation of Constantine's basilica. By way of explanation, Mr.
Jeffery has quoted extracts from the accounts of the pilgrims referred
to. — Academy, June 29, 1895.
SYRIA.
SOME HITTITE BRONZE FIGURINES.— M. Menant in the Rev. Arch.T
Jan-Feb., 1895, publishes a series of bronze figurines found in the
Orontes. These figurines resemble especially those which have
hithertofore come from Phoenicia and Sardinia. An analysis made
by M. Ditte, of the Sorbonne, shows that the bronze consisted of:
tin, 3.44; lead, 3.90; copper, 92.65, besides slight traces of iron.
They were moulded in a single piece and rudely made. One of these-
identifies itself as a Hittite divinity, since it wears upon its breast a
sort of phylactery containing the Hittite symbol for divinity. Both
arms are free and raised. On the head is a conical cap surmounted
by a plume. In this case, as in all the rest, the feet are indeterminate
and give no evidence as to the style of shoes. One of the statuettes is
the figure of a goddess. Another of finer workmanship had artificial
eyes and still wears a silver torque about his neck and carries a silver
sceptre in his hand. There can be little doubt that these figurines
reflect more important monuments which have not yet been discovered.
ASIA MINOR.
MYCEN>€AN AND CUNEIFORM REMAINS ON HITTITE SITES.— Little is
known as yet of the results of the excavations of M. Chantre at
Borghaz-Keui and at Kara-Euyuk, where he found a cuneiform text
and pottery having some analogy with that of Mykenai. He is about
to publish an extensive work on this subject. — Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 113.
EXPEDITION OF MM. HULA AND S2ANTO.— MM. Hula and Szanto
have published the first results of their expedition of 1893 made on
the Liechtenstein foundation. They discovered three new towns —
Kasossos, Hygassos and Kallipolis. In the walls of Amyzon they
found this interesting inscription: Bao-iAcvs 'Avrtbxos arparriy<H9r
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[Asia Minob.] ARCHJEOLOQ1CAL NEWS. 397
hnrdp\ai^ ?rc(a>v rfytfiwri, [£r]a[tpoe9 ?], oTpaTuarats #coi toi* aAAms ... to
Upov 'AiroAWo? MAOSTOEN (doubtless a local epithet of the divinity).
Then they studied the ruins of Alinda, its necropolis, theatre and
gateway. At Kafadji they discovered contracts of rent analogous to
those of LeBas, No. 323 ff. At Mendelia they copied an honorary de-
cree in which the Mylasians and Rhodians are mentioned, also a
Karian inscription which reads: —
K'niuhe — eegesead — disau.
and which signifies
'Hyiyo-MiS Ataov KviSioc (?)
At Herakleia of Latmos they discovered an inscription identifying the
temple of Athena. At Kadi-Kalessi they found Byzantine paintings
representing scenes from the life of Christ. Mylasa also furnished
several new inscriptions. The other results of the expedition may be
tabulated as follows : —
1. Eski-Hissar. Inscriptions to Zeus Labraundos, Demeter &nd
Kore.
2. Ulash. An inscription revealing the existence of the Kaoworct*
of the temple of Zeus.
3. Pedasa. A new inscription.
4. Halikarnassos. Honors paid to Sylla, an ephebic inscription;
dedication to Isis and Serapis ; numerous Nike inscriptions.
5. Idyma. Mention of a kmov t&v . . . aKrirmW; name of the tribe
Aoccvs.
6. Bair. Temple of Asklepios and an epitaph of a citizen of Hygas-
sos, from which it follows that Hygassos is Bair.
7. Turan-Tchiflik. Identified by an inscription as Kallipolis.
8. Pisye. Epitaphs.
EXPEDITION OF MM. HEBERBEY AND KALINKA— MM. Heberbey and
Kalinka have also forwarded to M. Reinach the results of their expe-
dition to Asia Minor during the autumn of 1894. They recovered
more than 300 inscriptions, of which two are Latin and five Lykian.
At Karabuk they discovered the Kop/xcW &?/to9, which according to an
inedited inscription of Ibesos formed with this town and Akalissos a
sympoliteia. Another inscription enabled them to fix the site of
Apollonia at Avassari, about six miles west of Tristomo. Numerous
fragments and eight entire blocks were found to complete the cele-
brated inscription of Opramoas at Rhodiapolis. — S. Reinach, Rev.
Arch., 1895, p. 111.
HAUKARNA8808.— B. Keil has made a study of the system of
enumeration employed in an inscription from Halikarnassos. One
system is the simple Attic system where A = 1, B = 2, KA = 21, etc.
In the other 1 stands for an obol, D for a drachma, 2 D for a stater
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398 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Asia Minor.]
and a dash with two little circles at each extremity for 10 staters^
There are also signs for fractions of obols, — = i, = = i,==^h The
article is too complex and treats of too many subjects to be here ana-
lyzed at length. — Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 115.
LYKIA. — M Imbert has made a study of names in relationship in
Lykian inscriptions. The names for son, wife, family and daughter
are already known. Imbert adds tuihes = nephew, qahbu = daughter-
in-law, ddedi = brother or brother-in-law, epnneni = grandfather, etc.
He announces that a Corpus of Lykian inscriptions will be published
by the Academy of Vienna in 1895.— Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 116.
MAXIMIANOPOLIS— A basrelief in basalt at Soueida in the Hauran
represents a scene from the Gigantomachia or according to M. Cler-
mont-Ganneau, Zeus and Herakles appearing in the character of two
emperors, perhaps Diocletian and Maximianus. In Gallo-Roman art
more than one of these mythological subjects have thus been treated
Realistically in the details of armor and of the costume. A town of
Maximianopolis existed precisely in this district, and M. Clermont-
Ganneau thinks that Soueida marks its site. — Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 121.
SMYRNA. — Grotesque Terracottas. — Once Mr. Ruskin wrote very
severely about the grotesque head sculptured on the tower of Sta. Maria
Formosa at Venice. He saw in it a work of pure imagination con-
ceived by an artist who was unworthily fond of the ugly. M. Charcot
recognized in this effigy the signs of a pathological deformation of the
face, signs which were reproduced with scrupulous exactness. In an
article in La Nature, Dr. Regnault, who once made a similar study of
Egyptian sculptures, proves now that certain grotesque statuettes
from Tanagra or from Myrina, which were usually regarded as carica-
tures, are in reality faithful copies of nature. He insists especially
upon the cranial deformations, and notes in the various figures exact
representations of microcephaly, acrocephaly, scaphocephaly and
hydrocephaly. One of these statuettes deserves especial attention. It
is a terracotta of Smyrna (No. 707 of the catalogue of the Louvre)
representing a microcephalous idiot, who is strangling himself by
gluttony. Such an accident, it appears, frequently occurs in lunatic
asylums. The gesture of the idiot carrying his hands to his neck,
giving the impression of suffocation, the expression of the counten-
ance, the form of the brain and the forehead in these statuettes are a
striking reality for pathologists. M. Heuzey has recently shown by
living examples that the beauty of lines in Greek art is based upon.
Teality. Dr. Regnault on his side shows us that the same is the case
for ugliness. — D'ebaU, 1894, Dec. 11, quoted in Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 114.
SYDE.— Basrelief8 of the Nymph/eum.— M. Collignon has recently com-
municated to the French Academy of Inscriptions some inedited
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[Krete.] archjeoloqical NEWS. 399
sketches found among the papers of the English architect Cockerell,
and reproducing four of the reliefs which adorn the balustrade of the
Nymphaeum of Syde. Two of these reliefs are already known by
publication of Count Lanckoronski on the cities of Pamphylia and
Pisidia, but the drawings of Cockerell are even in this case interesting
as differing in certain details. His other two sketches reproduce bas-
reliefs which no longer exist. One represents a Nereid rising out of
the water by the side of a marine monster and a flying Eros; on the
other is Selene being led by Eros toward the sleeping Endymion.
This subject is treated in a painting at Pompeii and this analogy is
sufficient to show the survival of Hellenistic taste in these basreliefe.
— Chronique, 1895, No. xix.
KYPROS.
INSCRIPTION OF HIRAM.— M. de Landau has published a note upon
the Phoenician inscription of Hiram (C. I. S. No. 5.) The author be-
lieves with Schrader that the Krfrthadast of the text is Kition, and
that the subjection of this town is attested by Menander (in Josephus
Antiq. vm, 5, 3.) According to him Hiram subjugated tovs TitWovs,
which should be corrected to KirvcuW. It is perhaps on this occasion
that Kition received the name of Karthadast. This town would have
remained in subjection from 800 to 701 b. c. under Esarhaddon. We
meet in Phoenician inscriptions with a king from Karthadast. It has
been supposed that the Hiram of the inscription of Kypros is Hiram i,
the friend of Solomon, but M. de Landa believes this to be Hiram n,
because Hiram i in the Bible is only king of Tyre, while Hiram of the
text is also king of Sidon — Rev. Arch., p. 109.
KRETE.
A MYCEN^AN MILITARY ROAD. — During the course of an archaeologi-
cal journey through Central Krete, from which we have just returned,
we have come across some new landmarks of Mycenaean antiquity
which may be of general interest. The remains to which we wish
here to refer lie in and about the mountain mass known as Lasethi,
which occupies a large area of East Central Krete, separated from Ida
by the more low-lying tract once mainly occupied by the territories
of Kndsos, Gortyna and Lyttos.
From the latter city a road, which seems to represent a very ancient
line of communication, after skirting the northwest escarpment of this
range, ascends to a col which from time immemorial must have
formed the main portal on this side of the extensive upland plain
that forms as it were the citadel of the whole range. The deep cutting
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400 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Kypkos.]
of the road at the summit of the pass, and the broad terrace formed
by it in other parts of its course, point to long use and the former im-
portance of its traffic, though it is now little more than a track. The
upland plain of Lasethi is completely enclosed by lofty limestone
ranges, and drains into a large swallow-hole (katavolhrori) in its north-
west corner, close to the point where the old track reaches the level
ground. From this point the modern road runs southward to the
village of Psychro, keeping close under the hills, owing to the liability
of the central part of the plain to floods in winter.
The first object of our explorations was the great cave above
Psychro, the ancient remains in which have been already called atten-
tion to by Prof. Halbherr, who, in company with Dr. Hazzidakis,
president of the Candian Syllogos, conducted some explorations here
in 1886, and in his work on the " Cave of the Idaean Zeus" describes
several votive relics here discovered. Our own researches are calcu-
lated to throw new light on this important sanctuary, and show that it
goes back perhaps even into pre-Mycenaean times. That it also lasted
on into classical days is equally certain. The discovery of a fragment
of sculpture representing a snake coiled round a trunk or support of
a statue might be thought to point to the worship of Apollo, but may,
after all, connect itself with some local heroic cult. On the other
hand, the parallelism of many of the earlier relics found with those of
the Idasan cave, and notably the presence of votive double axes, cer-
tainly suggests the cult of Zeus; while the fact that this great cave
sanctuary lay only four and a half hours' distance from Lyttos leads
us to infer that it was here that the Lyttian traditions regarding the
birth-place of Zeus, referred to by Hesiod, were localized; in other
words, this was the Diktaion Antron of the Lyttians, and Mount
Lasethi their Dikte. To the Prcesians, on the other hand, the more
easterly Siteia range was equally known as Dikte.
That in later times the plain of Lasethi came within the territory of
Lyttos, the only great town within easy access, is highly probable.
But we came upon the clearest proof that in the great days of Kretan
history — namely, the early Mycensean times — these remote uplands
harbored more than one walled city. About half an hour north of
Psychro, and immediately below the village of Plati, rises the isolated
knoll known as Meg&lo Kephai. Led here by the account of the dis-
covery of early pottery, together with rumors of the existence of a
tholos, or bee-hive chamber, we found distinct evidence of an early
akropolis, including walls of large blocks of rude horizontal, and, in
places, of polygonal construction ; and we could even make out the
course of the ascending road and traces of a gateway. From Psychra
village, which also shows some early foundations, the modern road.
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which, from its deep cutting, seems to follow an ancient line, runs
almost straight to Agios Georgios, above which rises an isolated ridge
(omitted in Spratt's map, as is also a larger one north of the village).
Here, too, are abundant remains of primitive pottery and distinct
traces of fortifications like those of Plati. The site is known as
Kastello.
Beyond Agios Georgios the traces of the old road become still
more obvious. A little south of the confluence of the Katharo
(Metochi) and Koudoumalia streams it ascends to the eastern steeps
of the Lasethi basin by a series of magnificent zigzags, supported below
by massive terrace walls of the same primitive masonry as that of the
Mycenaean strongholds below, and secured against landslips at the
turning points by similar walls above. From the top of the pass the
ancient road is still traceable, descending in zigzags towards the
Katharo stream ; the modern track, however, here breaks away and
crosses the upper Katharo basin almost due east to the Metochi
(farm).
Close above this a low pass, about 3,000 feet above sea level, forms
the natural exit from the whole upland region of Lasethi ; and imme-
diately after passing the summit of this, an ancient road becomes again
perceptible deeply worn in the mountain side, but now deserted in
favour of a newly engineered road, the zigzags of which cross and
recross the old line. At this point, amid groves of secular ilexes,
opens out one of the grandest panoramas to be seen in Krete, embrac-
ing the mountains of Siteia, the promontories that jut out firom the
low intervening tract and include the site of Minoa, to the conical
height of Axos and the ranges of Mirabello. About twenty minutes
from the top of the pass, we observed the remains of a vast primaeval
fortification intended to protect the defile against an enemy coming
from below. Two walls ran parallel to and near the ancient road,
flanking it on either side ; and from the lower end of these, above and
below, two other walls branched off at right angles — one climbing
down towards the bottom of the ravine, the other ascending the rocky
slope above. A breastwork was thus formed some two hundred yards
long with a passage for the road, and the upper part of this again made
a return for another sixty or seventy yards in the direction of a side
ravine in the rear of the position. Within this outer enclosure there
were also traces of other walls. The walls were about four feet thick,
of undressed polygonal blocks ; and though the whole is now in a
ruinous condition — not more than two or three courses remaining in
position — it must once have been a stupendous work.
About fifteen minutes below this the road was commanded by
another " Cyclopean " work, this time more of the nature of a castle
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402 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Kypros.]
rising on a rocky knoll between the road and thfe ravine. It consisted of
a rock-cut gate, a large rectangular chamber and two smaller ones, and,
about twenty paces to the west of the gate, a tower of remarkable con-
struction. It was partly formed of native rock, partly of " Cyclopean "
blocks bedded on this, and filling out the ground-plan so as to form
an angular bastion. A platform was thus raised in a most command-
ing position, looking out far across the valley straight towards the site
of the great Mycenaean city of Goulas, lying about four miles distant
as the crow flies, and from which this pre-historic castle itself is clearly
visible. It is called by the peasants tov k<lt<tov>u t£^ orcpva, "The
Kitten's Cistern." Further down, where the valley widens out, was
another square enclosure of the same primitive construction, a little
to the right of the modern road, and traces of another on a low knoll
of rock above it to the left.
Here, then, was a fortified road of primaeval antiquity leading down
to the rich Kritsa valley, dominated by what, so far as existing remains
allow us to judge, was the greatest city of Mycenaean Krete. But the
remarkable fact that at once strikes us is that the direction in which
the fortifications themselves were directed points against Goulas. It
might have been expected that the rulers of Goulas would have been
able to extend their dominion over the mountain uplands of their im-
mediate neighborhood, and that the ancient road system, which, as
will be seen, seems to ramify from their neighborhood, would have
been executed and fortified by them.
But the same phenomenon meets us on another side. From the
same Kritsa valley, another ancient road ascends past the village of
Kroustes to the southeastern spurs of Lasethi, apparently towards the
village of Malles, identified by Prof. Halbherr with the site of Malla
(Antiquary, May 1893, pp. 196, 197). Here again, about half an hour
above Kroustes, the old route is guarded against a lowland attack by
a series of similar stone strongholds. Among these is a natural rock
supplemented by rude stone masonry, which may originaliy have
formed a raised terrace, like the " Kitten's Cistern," another projecting
bastion of a similar character on the side of a glen, and a wall across
the top of the pass, while, on a summit above, a triangular fort of
large blocks, enclosing the foundations of a square watch-tower, com-
mands a wide view both up and down the road.
The line of pass leading from the site of Goulas to the valley of
Mirabello exhibits similar traces of an ancient road, supported by the
same " Cyclopean " masonry, and at the head of the defile, beyond
the district known as Lakonia, another pre-historic fort. At this spot,
now occupied by a small hamlet called Peponi Khani, the road is
flanked by the remains of double lines of ancient walls, from which,
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on either side, as in the pass below Katharo, are stone breastworks
running out at right angles. Here, again, the main line of defence
seems to be directed against an enemy coming from Goulas.
Yet it is hard to believe that these fortified roads of Mycenaean
times radiating from this great Mycenaean centre were not originally
the work of its rulers. Did they perhaps contemplate the possibility
of an enemy invading the valleys under their walls and desire to
secure their highland pastures and the access to the upland plain of
Lasethi? The materials are still wanting for the solution of these
enigmas ; but it is interesting to remark that already at this remote
period Krete presented a phenomenon only too familiar to us at the
present day: the combination, namely, of lines of intercourse engin-
eered at a great expenditure of skill and labor, with huge defensive
works proclaiming that the neighbor of to-day was as likely as not to
become to-morrow a hostile invader. We might be on the Vosges
instead of the Kretan mountains. — Arthur J. Evans and John L.
Myres, in Academy, June 1, 1895.
REVIEW OF HALBHERR'S DISCOVERIES AND WORK OF THE SYLLOGOS.
— Under the title " Notes from Krete " Dr. Halbherr gives in the Athe-
naeum of June 22 a brief summary of his recent investigations in
Krete, closing with a well-merited eulogy of services of the Kretan
Syllogos.
HIERAPYTNA — M. Joubin in the Recueil de Travaux, 1894, p. 162,
publishes a phototype of a Grseco- Roman relief from Hierapytna, rep-
resenting an ephebe wearing a double-horned psckent, between a figure
of Horos and Isis. The scene is placed in the temple, and is sup-
posed by the author of the article to represent a scene of initiation. It
may be that he goes too far in adding that the relief of Hierapytna
fills an important gap in our imperfect knowledge of ancient mys-
teries. The figure of the Horos should be compared with a beautiful
bronze figurine in the collection Greau, PL 17 of Froehner's Catalogue.
— Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 109.
EUROPE.
GREECE.
THEORIES OF ORIGIN AND ZOOLOGICAL SYMBOLS IN MYKENAI.— In
the Revue Archeologique, Jan.-Feb., 1895, Frederic Houssay advances
an interesting theory concerning the origin of a number of Mycenaean
forms. Upon the vase paintings in Mykenai some of the figures, such
as the poulp and the argonaut, may be easily identified. Others pre-
sent a single mixture of the real and impossible. To this class belongs
a bird like a goose or duck. Each of these creatures has upon its
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404 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
back two little appendices, which do not seem to be wings, but are
like appendices of the Lepas anatifera, or goose-mussels, a crustacean
frequently found upon floating objects. There is a legend of antiquity
which has come down through the Middle Ages, and is familiar to all
those who are interested in the history of the idea of spontaneous gen-
eration, that the barnacle-goose (anser bernicla) springs from the Lepas
anatifera. It seems as if the origin of this legend might be traced to these
strange pictures, which are birds in general aspect and crustacean in
detail. In its youth the Lepas anatifera swims and lives freely. It
Jias three pairs of tentacles and is formed like the lower Crustacea.
Later the number of tentacles increases to six pairs, and it is called
-a Cypris. Finally this Cypris plunges its head into some floating
-object; its flexible body closes together, revealing the extremities of
»the six pairs of tentacles ; the body becomes encrusted with a shell ;
<the six pairs of tentacles, useless now for walking, are used to capture
objects and draw them to the inside of the shell. The belief that
such a creature gave birth to a duck or goose is too extraordinary to
be based upon observation of the animal itself. It might have been
produced by the successive simplification of two pictures of animals
which finally came to resemble each other. From a study of the
figures of Mycenaean vases, it may be concluded : first, that the
painters represented the Lepas as exactly as possible ; secondly, that
this picture, after it had been considerably simplified, came to resem-
ble a goose ; thirdly, the legend arises that animals in the shape of a
goose were born in the sea upon floating objects; fourthly, the float-
ing object is thought of as a tree which grows in the sea, and is repre-
sented in such a way as to suggest the birth of a goose upon a tree.
M. Houssay pursues the same hypothesis in other directions.
Through the mediation of decorative forms found in the Caucasus, he
shows how the poulp, as a decorative form, might have been trans-
formed in the mountain regions of the Caucasus into the head of a
ram. Various forms of spirals, the swastika, the heart ornament, the
owl's head upon vases from the Troad, he traces to the same source.
Many of these forms have been explained with more probability
as having their naturalistic origin in the Egyptian lotus. It is inter-
esting, however, to see how far the poulp theory may be pressed to
explain the same forms by one who seems to be unacquainted with
the Grammar of the Lotus.
AGAIN THE SIDON SARCOPHAGI.— At a meeting of the Hellenic So-
ciety on May 27, Prof. P. Gardner described and discussed the famous
sarcophagi found at Sidon some years ago, and now in the Imperial
Museum at Constantinople. (1) The Lycian Sarcophagus, which the
lecturer was inclined to attribute to the latter part of the v century
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(Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 405
b. c. The subjects in high relief were chiefly hunting scenes, and in
the horsemen there were undoubted resemblance to those on the Par-
thenon frieze. (2) The Tomb of the Satrap, which probably belonged
to the same period, The subjects included a funeral banquet, a hunt-
ing scene, and the start of some warlike expedition. These latter
were probably episodes in the life of the person commemorated. In
style the tomb might be compared to the Nereid monument of Xan-
thus. (3) The Tomb of the Mourning Women. In this work, which
probably belonged to the middle of the iv century b. c, and was sin-
gularly beautiful and restrained in feeling and execution, eighteen
women were represented, between pillars, in various attitudes of grief.
The whole was an artistic triumph, and had been well described as
" a dirge in eighteen stanzas." Prom its similarity in style to the
well-known sepulchral reliefs at Athens it might almost certainly be
attributed to an Attic artist. It was possibly the tomb of Strato II,
King of Sidon. (4) The so-called Oreat Sarcophagus, usually, though
erroneously, connected with the name of Alexander. It was more
probably the tomb of a king of Sidon, though scenes in the life of
Alexander, and his figure, undoubtedly occurred on the monument.
It was difficult to name any thing quite comparable to this magnificent
work of art, though perhaps the nearest analogy was presented by the
Amazon Sarcophagus at Vienna. The vigor and variety of the battle
and hunting scenes, and the richness of the color, which was not
apparently a mere coat of paint, but actually worked into the texture
of the marble, were unique. As to the style, there was not sufficient
evidence to connect it with the school of Skopas, of Lysippos, or any
other known artist, and it was better to wait for further light before
pronouncing a definite opinion. On historical grounds, Prof. Gard-
ner was inclined to believe that it might be the tomb of a king of
Sidon, Abdalonymus, who is known to have been a friend and protegi
of Alexander. Prof. Waldstein drew attention to the resemblance
between the sarcophagus last mentioned and hunting scenes by
Lysippos and Leochares of which descriptions have come down to
us. He also compared the Sarcophagus of the Mourning Women
with the reliefs of Apollo and the Muses found at Mantineia. — Athe-
nxum, June 1, '95.
BOIOTIAN TERRACOTTA FIGURINES WITH GEOMETRIC DECORATION.
— The Museum of the Louvre has recently acquired a terracotta idol
said to have been found in the Boiotian necropolis. Two other anal-
ogous examples exist in the Museum of Berlin. Each of these figur-
ines is in the shape of a bell, and rudely represents in two cases the
human figure, and in one case the bell is surmounted by the head of
a bird. Thus far the terracottas called en galette} the famous pappades
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406 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHMOLOGY. [Gbeec*.]
of the Greek peasant long passed as the most ancient specimen of
Boiotian sculpture, but such figurines have been shown by Bohlau to
be contemporary with Boiotian vases, of transitional style, which
exhibit traces of Oriental decoration. The decoration upon the three
figurines from the Louvre and Berlin show no trace of Oriental influ-
ence, and have no analogy with vases of the transitional type. Their
decoration is composed of geometric elements and aquatic birds, and
illustrate, therefore, an earlier period. — M. Holleaux, Mon. et Mem.,
Acad. Inecrip.y T. I, p. 31.
A GREEK KRATER IN KORINTHIAN AND RHODIAN STYLE.— E. Pottier
publishes in the Mon. el Mem. Acad. Inscrip,, T. I, p. 43, a Greek krater
which came to the Louvre some thirty years ago with the Campana
collection. This vase is the exact copy of a metallic model, as may
be seen from the imitated rings or handles which are here affixed
below the rim, but which in the original bronze were movable. In
the execution of the decoration, which is painted in parallel bands,
two processes are used. In the upper portion of the vase the decora-
tion is Korinthian in character, exhibiting Oriental animals, such as
the sphinx, the griffin and the lion, in which details are brought out
by lines engraved with the burin. The lower portion of the vase is
painted in Rhodian fashion without the assistance of the burin. The
use of engraved lines in Greek pottery seems to have come in about
the middle of the vn century, and to have had its origin in the imita-
tion of incised metal vases, armor, etc. Korinth, renowned for its
industry and metals, played a very important roh in the introduction
of this technical method. The great school of Attic painters who in
the vi century carried this method to the highest point of perfection,
men like Klitias, Nearchos, Amasis and Exekias, were in a way rather
engravers than painters. At the end of the vi century a revolution in
the art took place, with the introduction of red figured vases. The
burin was now laid aside and the brush again expressed details of
drapery, muscles, etc.
VASE PAINTING REPRESENTING AN ADVENTURE OF HERAKLES.— In
the Museum of the Louvre there is a skyphoa said to have been found
in Lokris with crude paintings, which are nevertheless interesting
because of their subject. On one side of the vase is represented Hera-
kles and his companions arriving at the court of Eurytos, where they
were kindly received and invited to a repast. Eurytos and his sons
are seated at the banquet-table. The king's daughter Iole is not
represented. On the other side we see a more warlike scene, in which
Herakles and his companions are about to lay siege to the palace and
are entering it by force. One of the figures may be Iole, although
more likely an ephebe, clad in the same manner as the other figures.
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In this scene the palace is represented as having a peristyle which is
of interest, since architectural representations are rare during the v
century. A Korinthian krater of the vi century, also in the Louvre,
represents the visit of Herakles to Eurytos. The painting upon this
vase is naive but serious, whereas that upon the Attic skyphos is appa-
rently satirical and influenced by the spirit of skepticism which was
then in vogue. — E. Pottier in Mon. Grecs, 21-22, p. 41.
RETURN OF HEPHAISTOS.— In the Mitth. d. k. d Arch, Inst Athen,
1894, pp. 510-525 (Pl. viii), G. Loeschke discusses a Korinihian Vase
with the Return of Hephaistoa, The vase is an araphoriskos in Athens.
The date assigned is the early part of the vi century. Hephaistos is
beardless, carries a drinking horn, and both his feet are crippled. He
rides a horse. All the other male figures are bearded and nude. A
draped female figure is explained as Thetis. The existence of a nude
Dionysos at this date shows that Korinthian art was at that time less
influenced than was that of Athens by the art of Ionia. Two gro-
tesque forms with huge phalli, but no characteristics of horse or goat,
are explained as genuine Satyroi, daemonic beings belonging to the
belief of the early Achaian inhabitants of Peloponnesos. Etymologi-
cal ly (rorvpos is connected with the Latin satur.
AN ATTIC LOUTROPHOROS WITH FUNERARY SUBJECT.— The class of
anaphoras known as the Loutrophoroi exhibit two classes of subjects —
funerary and nuptial scenes. The first class is found amongst black-
figured vases or those where the red figures appear in the severe
style. The second class is characteristic of a more advanced style.
The unusual size of these vases, the fact that they have no bottom
and finally the testimony of the monuments which show them placed
upon the mound above the grave, go to show that they have a
memorial character intended to designate the site of a tomb. In fact,
some of them have been found in place in the ancient necropolis of
Athens, near the Dipylon. In the catalogue of Attic Loutrophoroi
made by Wolters (Ath. Mitth, xvi, pp. 378-384) the red-figured vases
with funerary silbjecte are very few. An addition to this list is
afforded by an important vase in the Louvre. On the neck are repre-
sented mourners, some of whom carry these vases. On the body of
the vase is represented the prothemy where the body of the departed
is laid upon a couch and is surrounded by male and female mourners.
This decoration is in the severe style of red figures, but below it there
is a frieze of cavalrymen painted in black figures with incised detail.
The technique of this transitional character is found upon signed
vases of Khachrylion, Peithinos, Amasis n, Apollodoros and by the
unknown master who writes upon his vases the formula Adxn* *oAo$.
From the general style of the vase, it may be assigned to about the
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408 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Grkbck.]
year 480 b. c. — Max Collignon, in Mon. et Mem. Acad. lmcr., T. I.,
p. 49.
RELIEF FROM THE PEIRAIEUS.— In 1880 the Louvre acquired a
Grseco-Roman basrelief discovered at Peiraieus, which represents
Nemesis. Her two wings are closed, and she stands upon the back of
a nude man upon the ground, holding in her right hand a wheel and
accompanied by a serpent. The inscription is interesting because
the goddess here mentions herself,
Et/xl fikv o>s ccropu? Ncficcris fx€p07ru)v dvOpwiriov,
CV7TTC/J09, aOavara, kvkKov fyovira trokov.
M. Delamarre has called attention to the fact that this relief and
the inscription contained Orphic reminiscences, which increase their
interest. The sculptor of the monument was called Artemidoros. —
Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 95.
TWO GREEK RELIEFS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.— Amongst the recent
acquisitions of the British Museum are two Greek tombstone reliefs.
The earlier is that of Glykylla, said to have been found at Thebes, but
evidently of Attic origin. The material is Pentelic marble and the
subject a seated lady putting a bracelet about her wrist, while an
attendant stands holding open a jewel-casket. The character of the
sculpture, as well as the inscription, indicate the period of the work
to be the close of the v century. The second relief is the most perfect
representation of its kind. On it is represented a young mother
seated, before whom is standing an attendant holding the child
arrayed in swaddling clothes. This relief is also of Pentelic marble
and obviously of Attic workmanship, dating shortly after 400 b. c. —
A. H. Smith, in Jour, of Hell. Stud., Vol. xiv, part 2, 1894.
STATUETTE OF APOLLO. — Amongst the bronze statuettes which
formerly belonged to the collection of Viscount H. de Janz6, now
preserved in the Cabinet de* MedaiUes of the Biblioth&que Nationale,
Paris, there is one which in spite of its interest seems not to have
been sufficiently noticed. It represents a nude, beardless, long-haired
youth extending his right hand. The work is certainly Greek, and
may be placed at the end of the v century. It is ddubtless a replica
of more ancient work of cruder character. In comparing this statu-
ette with the Piombino Apollo, we find many points of resemblance.
One reason why certain authors have refused the name of Apollo to
the statue from Piombino is the absence of locks falling over the
shoulder. Such locks occur in the present statuette. It may, there-
fore, be considered as inspired by the celebrated Apollo Philesios of
Kanachos. — J. Adrien Blanchet, Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 28.
VENUS PUDICA. — In 1893 the Museum of the Louvre acquired a
bronze statuette said to have come from Sidon. It belongs to the
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[Grkeck.] ARCHjEOLOQICAL NEWS. 409
series represented by the Venus de Medici and the Venus of the Capi-
tol. In 1873 Bernoulli catalogued ninety-nine replicas of this type,
and the list can be certainly much enlarged to-day. The type repre-
sented by the Venus of the Vatican and that of Munich was less fre-
quently reproduced, although more closely corresponding to the
Aphrodite of Knidos, by Praxiteles. The type represented by the
Venus de Medici would seem to be not a mere variant of the Aph-
rodite of Knidos, but an earlier type established before the days of
Praxiteles. — Paul Jamot, Mon. et Mem. Acad. Inscr., T. I, p. 151.
FEMALE HEAD IN THE MUSEUM OF THE LOUVRE.— M. George Perrot
publishes in the Mon. et Mem. Acad. Imcr., T. I, p. 129, a female head
acquired by the Louvre in 1893. It is of Italian marble and of a
style which combines influences which may be referred to Skopas
and Praxiteles.
ARGIVE BRONZE STAUETTE IN THE LOUVRE.— In 1894 the Museum
of the Louvre acquired a fine bronze statuette purchased in Athens
from a private collection, and said to have been found at Olympia. It
represents an athlete, who wears boots of the kind called by the
Greeks frfyxyuScs. According to Hesychius and Pollux, this kind of
boot was worn by athletes. The left arm is missing, but strangely
enough the place of attachment is covered by the ancient patina. In
speaking of the patina of the bronzes of Dodona, M. Heuzey recalled
some years ago the curious text of Plutarch concerning the wash
which Greek bronzes received in antiquity. M. Henri Lechat in the
Bull, de Corr. Hell., 1891, p. 471, renewed the study of this passage
and proved the existence upon Greek bronzes of the v and iv cen-
turies of an artificial patina applied by the Greek bronze makers to
preserve their works from the effect of air and humidity. The statu-
ette of the Louvre substantiates this theory. In style the kronze may
be classed as a work of the school of Argos, intermediate between the
styles of Ageladas and Polykleitos. — A. H. de Villefosse, in Mon. et
Mem. Acad. Inscr., T. I, p. 105.
HEAD OF APOLLO. — The Museum of the Louvre has recently ac-
quired a head of a statue which belongs to the series represented by
the Choi8eul-Gouffier Apollo of the British Museum and the Apollo
on the Omphalos at Athens. The Museum of the Capitol and the
Torlonia collection in Rome and the Uffizi in Florence also contain
statues belonging to this series. There are also fourteen separate
heads known besides the one here published. It is evident, there-
fore, that the original represented by these replicas, must have been
very popular in antiquity. The original was lost, but the Apollo on
the Omphalos is probably the closest copy. The question whether
these statues represent an Apollo or, as Dr. Walsdtein thought in the
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410 AMERICAN JOURRAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.]
case of the London statue, an athlete, may be considered settled since
the publication by Overbeck of his Apollo Atlas. Though consider-
ably injured by weathering, the Louvre example is important, since
it is the only one of all this series which has the nose complete. — A.
H. de Villefosse, in Mon. el. Mem. Acad. Inner., T. I, p. 61.
APHRODITE OF ME LOS. — Koerte considers that the problem of the
Aphrodite of Melos has been definitely settled by Furtwaengler, and
believes that we may now without hesitation attribute this statue to
the end of the n century. Other critics of the Meisterwerke have
thought the same. They are wrong. Furtwaengler has based his
argument on the testimony of Voutier, the first weak point in his
thesis. The second is that the restoration which he has imagined,
and of which a cut is found in the English edition of the Meisterwerke
(p. 380), is simply villainous. The question is not settled at all, and
I am convinced that the horrible hand with the apple never belonged
to the statue.
M. Mironoff has pretended that the Aphrodite was a Winged Vic-
tory. Petersen has replied to him, that there is here not the slightest
trace of a wing, and that the same is the case with the Venus of Capua.
— S. Reinach, Rev. Arch., 1895, p. 107.
AN ARCHAIC BA8RELIEF FROM KERTCH.— M. Reinach discusses the
question whether a basrelief in archaic Greek style at Kertch, in the
Crimea, is archaic or archaistic. He begins by showing that we have
almost nothing remaining of Ionic sculpture between 480-450 b. c,
and in this connection shows the importance of the city of Pantica-
paea, the modern Kertch, which was founded as a colony of Miletos
at least as early as 540 b. c, and was the mother of all the maritime
cities of the Bosphorus. Its extraordinary artistic development in
the v century is attested by the collections of objects found in its
tombs now in the museums of Russia.
On this basrelief are four figures: Artemis, Apollo Daphnephoros,
Hermes, and finally a figure which is probably that of Peitho. The
style is that of the Attic-Ionic reliefs of the close of the vi or be-
ginning of the v century. Of the two authorities who have seen it,
one, Professor Kondakoff, regards it as archaic ; the other, Professor
Furtwaengler, regards it as archaistic. The latter opinion is followed
by Hauser in his Neuattischen reliefs. The arguments used to show
archaistic character of the relief are mainly connected with certain de-
tails, which are asserted not to be found in early works. M. Reinach
takes up these points one by one and shows the argument in each
case to be unfounded. Such, for example, is the presence of wings
fastened directly to the heels of Hermes. All of these characters, the
slenderness of his waist and the development of his hips, the trans-
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 411
parent treatment of parts of the drapery and their swallow-tail termi-
nation, he proves to have existed in the monuments of the v century
b. c. His conclusion is that this relief is an Attic-Ionic work
sculptured in about 470 b. c. under the influence of the Athenian
models which were popular with the contemporaries of Kimon. —
Mon. et Mem. Acad. Inwr., 1895, T. II, pp. 57-76.
BRONZE MIRROR RELIEF AND MARBLE DISC REPRESENTING APHRO-
DITE PANDEMOS. — The statue of Aphrodite Pandemos, by Skopas,
seen by Pausanias at Olympia, has been illustrated by a coin of the
time of Septimius Severus, in accordance with which M. Boehm and
M. Reinach have catalogued the representations of Aphrodite Pande-
mos. Both of these catalogues mention the bronze relief from a
mirror box in the Louvre which came from the collection of Count
Tyszkiewicz, though now published for the first time. The subject
recalls the characteristic traits of the group of Skopas, with slight
variations made for decorative reasons. The two kids which appear
upon the mirror, on either side of the ram, may well have appeared
in the original group and have been utilized as artificial supports.
The Louvre also contains a marble disc of crude workmanship, which
perpetuates the same subject and resembles the coins of Elis even
more closely. Here also the two kids appear; in the upper portion is
a vase in the form of a kylix. Thig marble disc came from Athens,
and together with two other reliefs from the same source, seems to in-
dicate that at Athens, as well as at Elis, the ram was the attribute of
Pandemos, and that the statue seen there by Pausanias was of the
same general type as the statue by Skopas. — Mon. et Mem. Acad.
Inscr., T. I., p. 143.
FRAGMENTS OF TWO RED-FIGURED CUPS REPRESENTING THE ILIU-
PERSIS. — In the archaeological collection of the University of Vienna
are two fragments of a cup, and in the possession of P. Hartwig three
fragments of another containing representations of the Iliupersis.
One of the University fragments represents Kassandra with her right
hand defending herself from Ajax ; her left hand, according to analogy
of other representations, was stretched toward the Palladion. Three
letters, k EA, point to the inscription lr EAAPO$ KAK)^. The other
fragment represents Astyanax overturned by Neoptolemos. A female
figure, Andromache (?) or Hekuba (?), raises her hand in astonish-
ment. The fragment is inscribed KAK)^ .
The style of the painting enables us to attribute the cup to the
circle influenced by Epiktetos, though we may not go so far as to
ascribe it to Khachrylion, who made use of the same inscription. It
enables us to see the mode of composition afterwards elaborated by
Euphronios.
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412 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Grbkce.J
The three other fragments show the arm and helmet of Neoptole-
mos, the head and part of the arm of Priam, an architrave with
triglyphs and part of a stone altar. Style and execution point to the
hand of Brygos. The same episode with reversed and modified com-
position appears in the fragments of a cup in the Cabinet des Medailles
in Paris. — P. Hartwig, in Arch.- Epigraph. Mittheilungen am Oesterreich-
Ungarn, Heft 2, 1893.
COINS OF THE ACHAIAN LEAGUE.— Mr. Bernard Quaritch will shortly
publish a catalogue of all the coins, both silver and copper, struck by
the Achaian League, compiled by Major-General M. G. Clerk. It will
be illustrated by thirteen copper plates of 311 coins, and one plate of
monograms, 130 in number. The catalogue will contain detailed de-
scriptions of 323 silver and 120 copper coins of the League, marking
238 coins mentioned in the catalogue of Prof. R. Weil, of Berlin.
There will also be the following tables : (1) List of the towns of the
League of which coins are not known ; (2) list of symbols found on
the League coins, showing towns to which they are attributed ; (3) list
of proper names, showing the towns on coins of which they are
found. — Academy, May 4, 1895.
ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY IN BERLIN. — At the November meeting
Pom tow spoke of the Results of the Excavations at Delphi from April to
June, 1894. Remarks were made by Kalkmann and Puchstein.
Winnefeld spoke on the Results of this Year's Excavations at Hissarlik.
Belger spoke on The Age and Origin of the Twisted Column (2 cuts). At
the December meeting (Winckelmannsfest) Curtius spoke of Olympia
in Hellenistic Times. Trendelenburg called attention to an Attic Relief
in Copenhagen. Koepp spoke of Battle-pictures in Athens. Treu spoke
of a Plastic Reproduction of the Sculptures Excavated at Olympia. Full
reports of these meetings are given in the Arch&ologischer Anzeiger(lS95,
pp. 2-27) -and Berlin philol. Wochmschr. (1895, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14.
No. 6 contains a plan of Delphi),
RECENT DISCOVERIES. — In the Mitth. d. k. d. Arch. Inst. Athen, 1894,
pp. 529-536, W. Doerpfeld gives a list of Discoveries. The only dis-
coveries of importance not elsewhere mentioned in the Journal are
some Mycenaean houses and some vases found at Aigina in excavating
the temple of Aphrodite, remains of a building with mosaic floors and
indications of a hypocaust near Chalkis, and twenty prehistoric
graves at Amorgos in which were found objects similar to those pre-
viously discovered in similar graves on the Cyclades.
DEATH OF PROF. HIRSCHFELD. — The well-known archaeologist, Gus-
tav Hirschfeld, died at Wiesbaden on Saturday, the 20th ult. He
was born in Pomerania in 1847, and after traveling in Italy, Greece
and Asia Minor, superintended the Prussian excavations at Olympia-
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[Greece.] ARCHJEK) LOGICAL NEWS. 413
from 1875 to 1877. In 1878 he became extraordinary professor at
Konigsberg, and an ordinary professor in 1880. He wrote a number
of archaeological monographs, beginning with "Tituli Statuarum
Sculptorumque Grsecorum " in 1871. and he had a share in the first
two volumes of the u Ausgrabungen in Olympia." He became an
authority especially on the inscriptions, geography and antiquities of
Asia Minor, including the so-called " Hittite " remains, and published
two monographs on this subject besides a number of reports. Some
years ago he founded at Konigsberg a review entitled Kbnigsberger
Studien.
AMORGOS. — The announcement is made that Tsountas has exca-
vated some twenty prehistoric tombs which contain plates of bronze,
terracottas and a small statue in marble. The vases are like those of
Thera, the handles of which are pierced so that the vase may be sus-
pended with cords. At Minoa there has been discovered a decree of
the Samian Commune in honor of the physician Ouliades. — Rev. Arch.y
1895, p. 107.
ARGOS. — The Heraion. — We quote from the New York Nation the
following letter by Prof. Charles Waldstein, dated Argos, March 28 :
" As I write, I sit on the walls of the second temple of Hera (of the
v century b. a), while the men are massed on the slope below, to the
south, where last year we found the first indications of a large build-
ing between twenty and thirty feet beneath the foundation walls of
the second temple. As we wished to lose no time this year, Mr. J. C.
Hoppin (Harvard, 1893), together with our architect, Mr. E. L. Til-
ton, of New York city, and Mr. T. \V. Heermance (Yale, 1893), began
excavating a week ago, and carried on the work very successfully
before my arrival here. The building below the south slope of the
second temple promises to be one of the finest of the eleven buildings
we have already discovered on this most favorable site. Of the north
wall, which is of the best Greek masonry, four courses are standing.
We have already followed it up for more than a hundred feet, and
have not yet come to the end. The pillar bases in the centre are all
in 8itu. On one of these last year a drum of the column was still
standing, and we have since discovered two others. Here Mr. Hop-
pin found some well-preserved large fragments of the metopes from
the second temple, together with two heads in excellent preservation,
one of which (a warrior with a helmet) fits the neck of a fragment of
a metope with the greater part of the torso. If our good fortune con-
tinues, we shall be able to present fine specimens of metopes of this
temple, which is second only to the Parthenon in artistic importance.
The grant of the Archaeological Institute and (above all) the liberality
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414 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Greece.]
of Mrs. J. W. Clark, of Pomfret, Conn., enable us to carry this season's
work to a termination without the worries of cramped means."
ATHENS. — Excavations on Western Slope of the Akropolis. — In the Mitth.
Arch. Inst. Athen, 1894, pp. 496-509 (pi. xiv), W. Doerpfeld writes of
The Excavations on the Western Slope of the Akropolis. I. General View.
A brief statement of the questions to be settled by the excavations is
followed by a concise history of the excavations and description of
the buildings, etc., discovered. On the plan the modern road is repre-
sented by parallel lines and circles denoting trees. The ancient roads
are dotted. A is a building of uncertain size and purpose, probably
of Hellenic date. The corner of the Areiopagos, near this part of the
road, shows many cuttings for buildings, one of which may be the last
signs of the Odeion mentioned by Pausanias near the temple of Ares
and the old Orchestra. Of the building B, also west from the Areio-
pagos, remains of two polygonal walls forming a corner were found.
From this point a path leads up to the Pnyx. Steps in this path are
marked C. The remains marked D probably belong to a dwelling.
E is a lesche of the iv century, built in part at least over a hieron of the
vi century. This— a rectangular exedra containing a small temple
and an altar — is marked F. G is a private house with two mortgage-
inscriptions of the iv century. H, a Greek building about 31 m. in
length, may be a private house or a public edifice. At J, K, L are re-
mains of a late Roman house, not completely given in the plan.
Under this was a smaller earlier house. Between this house and the
Pnyx hill was an open space on which was the Enneakrunos (see
Journal, Vol. ix, p. 292). The ancient building with its nine water-
openings stood about where the word Enneakrunos is marked in the
plan, under the present road. O and P were basins or small reser-
voirs. N was a large basin. M was a Roman house. The ancient
water-pipes and excavated aqueduct have been followed from N to
the theatre of Dionysos (i, n, in, iv, v). Of the ruins marked T only
small bits of early limestone walls remain. In the triangular space
between these roads, south of the Areiopagus, was a sanctuary of
Dionysos, the Lenaion. It was surrounded by a polygonal wall. At
S was an ancient wine-press, over which a later one was built. At V
was a small temple. In the middle of the triangle was an altar.
These early buildings are printed in full black lines to distinguish
them from the later Bakcheion or meeting-place of the Iobakchi (see
Journal, Vol. ix, p. 291). Across the road, east of the Dionyseion are
remains of a Greek house with mosaics, probably the oldest existing
Greek mosaics. Further south is the Asklepieion discovered two
years ago (see Journal, Vol. ix, p. 115).
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ARCH&OLOQICAL NEWS.
415
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416 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
ARCHAIC STATUETTES OF ATHENA.— In the Mitth. J. h d. Arch. Inst,
Athen, 1894, pp. 491-495, P. Kastriotes writes of The Votive Offerings
to Athena in the Museum of the Akropolis. Comparison with terracotta
statuettes, some of which are clearly characterized as Athena, the con-
sideration that in the sixth century the type of Athena was not fixed,
the small number of archaic statues clearly characterized as Athena,
and the large number of female figures without distinct attitudes all
make it probable that the archaic female figure in the Akropolis
museum (called by many " priestesses " or " maidens ") really repre-
sent Athena.
ENCLOSING THE BURIAL GROUND.— The Archaeological Society has
determined to surround with iron railings the ancient burial ground
on the Kerameikos and the Theatre of Dionysos. After the inspector's
plan of transferring the most beautiful and important reliefs to the
Central Museum had been rejected, the enclosure of the ancient ceme-
tery was undertaken, and will be proceeded with along with the
theatre. — Athenseum. June 29, 1895.
DELPHI. — From Delphi is announced the discovery of a colossal
statue of Athena in poros litho8y with traces of polychrome coloring, but
unfortunately the head is wanting. Some important fragments of an
archaic group in marble, representing a lion tearing to pieces a bull,
have also come to light, as well as the fine reliefs which adorned the
front of the scena in the ancient theatre. So far there have been re-
covered the representation of Herakles shooting arrows against the
Stymphalian birds, the contest of Herakles with Antaios and that
with the sea monster for the deliverance of Hesione, and a portion of
the Kentauromachia. — Athenaeum, June 29, 1895.
A Second Hymn. — Dr. Homolle reports the discovery of a second
hymn to Apollo, also accompanied with music marks, consisting of
twenty-eight lines, and almost throughout capable of being read.
Prof. Henri Weil, of Paris, has examined the find closely and restored
the fragmentary readings. The hymn is pronounced to be of rare
poetic worth, and was found on a marble tablet 0.80 m. high by
0.61 m. wide. It commemorates the coming of the god to Delphi,
and his victory over the dragon, and closes with a petition for Greece
and the Romans. Besides the hymn there were found also marble
fragments with music marks containing the famous war song of the
Greeks, the Psean. But, unfortunately, the fragments are in such a
condition that a large portion of the hymn can no longer be made
out. Professors Reinach and Weil are at work deciphering these
fragments and trying to restore and reconstruct the hymn. — N. Y. In-
dependent, June 6.
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 417
ELEUSIS. — In the course of the excavations instituted anew at Eleusis
by the Archaeological Society, under the superintendence of the In-
spector, A. Skias, a pinax of terracotta of much importance was dis-
covered. It is a work of art of the iv century, from the hand of a
master. On it are painted four female figures, and the colors are
wonderfully preserved. On the base of this votive pinax is inscribed
MCviov dv€0rjK€v. The discovery is not only interesting in an artistic
point of view, but also because the pictures have obvious relation to
the mysteries, and it is hoped that their correct interpretation will
afford fresh knowledge of the Eleusinian mysteries. — Athenaeum, June
1, 1895.
Dr. Skias also reports the find of a red-figured vase of the iv cen-
tury, 0.22 m. high, of altogether unusual and peculiar shape. Upon
it the Eleusinian goddess Demeter is represented. She holds the cus-
tomary ears of corn in her hand. Near her is Kore. Between them
is Triptolemos riding in a wain drawn by winged dragons. Upon the
other side of the vase is depicted a scene that has not as yet been suf-
ficiently explained, but in all probability it is connected with the
Eleusinian mysteries. Some traces of gold on the vase show that in
antiquity these representations were gilded. On the basis is the in-
scription ^niirfrpla ^rjfxrjTpi &v€$vk€v ) it also was at one time gilded-
The vase was not found intact, and the fragments were sent to the
Central Museum at Athens to be put together. — Athen&um. June 29,
1895.
ERETRIA.— Excavation of the theatre and gymnasium by the American School.
— Prof. Rufus B. Richardson, Director of the American School at
Athens, writes to the Independent: "The topography of Eretria, in
spite of the lack of a description by an ancient writer, is slowly be-
coming fixed. Last year the American School at Athens had the
good fortune to lay bare the foundations of a temple of Dionysos near
the theatre. While that work was going on I noticed, one day, the
corner of a hewn stone projecting from the ground, about 150 yards
from the theatre and at the foot of the Akropolis. On moving a con-
siderable quantity of earth I found a line of four carefully wrought
stone tubs, running back into the slope of the Akropolis and once
supplied with water by a tile pipe at their upper end. I was sorry at
the time not to be able to clear away here a considerable space; and
when, this year, a friend put into my hands the means for conducting
another excavation campaign, I immediately thought of the realization
of this old desire.
" But Dr. Doerpfeld, the Director of the German School, had on his
recent island tour pointed out the duty of the American School to
complete the excavation in the Eretrian theatre by clearing out the
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418 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
half of the orchestra hitherto untouched, as well as the parodoi and
the seats. The two theatres excavated by our school which he visits
on his tours, Thorikos and Eretria, were both cases of unfinished work
in contrast to the theatre at Megalopolis, so faultlessly executed by
the British School. So, although the earth lay solid and hard about
five feet deep over one-half of the orchestra, and although there was
very little hope of * finds' there, our duty to the archaeological public
seemed to call more loudly than the uncertain hope of discovering
something new in the region of the tubs.
" Giving heed to this voice, I made clearing of the theatre the prin-
cipal thing from the beginning to the end of our four weeks of exca-
vation ; and we are now able to present to our colleagues a finished
work in which they may find pleasure as well as profit.
" On the second day, having more men than could easily be em-
ployed in the theatre, I drew off the surplus, and before night had
nearly cleared about the tubs a large room with a floor of pebbles laid
in cement, so hard as to seem, when we first struck it, a stone floor.
And in the doorway of this room we had found a breast of a human
figure with drapery, a large fragment of an inscribed block of marble,
and a fine marble anthemion from the roof.
"After this very promising beginning we went on for four days with-
out finding anything of importance, but laying bare room after room
of a large building. But at the end of the fourth day we found a
really interesting inscription intact, on a block of marble serving as
the base of a statue of a youth who had won a gymnastic victory, and
a vase fragment with a name painted on it. On the morning of the
fifth day came our principal find. This was a bearded head of Di-
onysos, of an archaic type, but probably archaistic work resembling
closely a head in the Athens Museum, but surpassing it in beauty of
workmanship. Luckily this head is split in such a way as to give us
practically the whole face. A little of the flowing beard only is chip-
ped off on one side. A head which we found later was, on the con-
trary, so split as to give us only some elegant back hair and the
ears of a youth, while still another piece, particularly tantalizing be-
cause it showed the best art of all our discoveries, consisted only of
the back part of the head with the forehead and right eye of a woman.
"A particularly interesting find was the upper two-thirds of a mas-
sive head of a man, with a very high forehead inclining to baldness.
One morning, after this had lain in our tents for more than a week,
Mr. Lyris, the ephor attendant on the excavations, who was lodged in
the museum of Eretria, said that he thought he had seen in the mu-
seum the lower part of a head which would match our upper part.
We took our part down to the museum and placed it upon the piece
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[Greece.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 419
indicated, and the union was perfect. The head, reunited after, per-
haps, centuries of separation, now adorns the museum at Athens,
where all the good things come, with the exception of Olympia sculp-
tures. In one way the matching of the parts of the head brought a
surprise. The massive brow surmounted a face so narrow at the
mouth and chin that- the effect would have been almost ridiculous,
were it not impossible for such forehead and eyes to be made a part
of anything ridiculous; they dominate the combination, and convey
the idea of a strong personality. It is one of the best portrait heads
in the museum.
"As we went on laying bare room after room, large and small, we
at last had the plan of a large building, roughly speaking 150 feet
square, with a large open court in the middle, ending on its lower side
toward the city in a terrace wall eight or ten feet high. On the side
toward the Akropolis it ran up against a high terrace wall, from the
top of which other buildings started off on a still higher level. So
the accumulation of earth, tiles and stones over our building varied
from about one foot on the lower side to seven or eight feet on the
upper side.
" From the liberal arrangements for water — we found also a row of
smaller tubs, probably foot-bath tubs, and three different arrange-
ments for delivering the water, evidently belonging to three different
epochs — we had early come to the conclusion that we were in a gym-
nasium. But in this case we were not, as last year in the case of the
temple, left to conjecture, however probable. We found inscriptions
which put the identification beyond doubt.
"One Saturday evening at five o'clock I noticed that a supposed
stone step left by the workmen as it lay, and subsequently covered in
a heavy rainstorm with a coating of mud, which had turned hard in
the hot sun, had a little moulding on its edge. Picking away the hard
earth with a knife, I soon saw that the stone ended in a sort of gable.
A workman being called, put his pick under it and raised it, when on
its underside appeared an inscription of forty-nine lines, with a
heading consisting of a name carved within a wreath. The earth
lying below the stone had so taken the impression of the inscription
that for a whole day one could read it almost as easily from the earth
as from the stone.
" In this inscription Eretria records an honor to one of her liberal
citizens, Elpinikos, the son of Nikomachos, a gymnasiarch, who had
furnished money from his own resources for prizes in various contests,
and had taken pains that oil of the very best quality should be served
for anointing the gymnasts. After a long preamble, recounting these
and many other services, it is enacted, l to the end that all may know
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420 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
that the State is not ungrateful, and that the public may have many
emulators of his example/ that ' Elpinikos receive a crown of olive,
and that the decree be cut on a marble stele, which shall be set up in
the gymnasium in the most conspicuous place.' We doubtless found
it fallen near where it stood.
" Of a similar decree in honor of another gymnasiarch, Mantidoro8f
the son of Kallikrates, we found the top part with fourteen lines and
a heading like that of the other. The language also follows the other
very closely. Mantidoros, like Elpinikos, * abode a whole year in the
gymnasium,' and, like him, furnished money from his own resources,
and i looked out for oil of the most excellent quality.' But whereas
Elpinikos furnished at his own charges a teacher of eloquence and a
drill sergeant (p^opa *<u owkofiaxov), Mantidoros furnished a Homeric
philologist ('OfjLvjpiKov <f>ik6\oyov), Dionysios, the son of Philotas, an
Athenian, ' who devoted himself to the boys and to the youths and to
all others who had any bent toward education.' It is interesting to
have the name of a Homeric scholar of that period. But the chief
importance of the two inscriptions was that they identify the build-
ing certainly enough as a gymnasium.
"As the inscriptions, and, in fact, most of the finds, do not go back
of 150 b. c, and as several theatre seats and architectural members of
the stage building are found in the gymnasium, we probably have the
latter building in the shape given to it under Roman dominion, after
a previous destruction by fire, of which traces remain.
" Not to give a catalogue of all our finds, I may mention, in
addition to numerous copper coins, two silver pieces. One of these is
a didrachma with an archaic head, probably of Herakles, and on the
reverse side a trireme on the water, dating back, probably, to a time
before the Persian War, and so to the days of Eretria's thalassooratia.
The second piece is a tetradrachma of Lysimachos." — N. Y. Independent,
July 18.
KEPHALLENIA. — Tombs. — In the MUth. Arch. Inst. Athen. (1894, pp.
486-490, cut), P. Wolters describes Mycenaean Graves in Kephallenia.
One was a bee-hive tomb, now so destroyed as to be hardly recogniz-
able. Besides this, three rock-cut chamber-tombs are described. All
are near together, not far from the village of Masarakata.
LYKOSOURA. — The excavations at Lykosoura have been resumed
under the superintendence of the inspector, Basilius Leonard us.
When we remember that we owe to this site the beautiful sculptures
by Damophon of Messena belonging to the Temple of Despoina, most
of which adorn the Patissia Museum at Athens, we may look with
much eagerness for the results of the new explorations. — Athenteum,
June 29, 1895.
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[Greece.] ARCHJEOLOQICAL NEWS. 421
MYKENAI. — Dr. Tsoundas has resumed his excavations at Mykenai,
both inside the Akropolis and in the necropolis outside the walls. In
the latter ten prehistoric tombs have recently been discovered and ex-
amined, in which were found five bronze swords, several fibulae, a
ring and several other gold ornaments, besides incised precious stones.
— Athenaeum, June 29, 1895.
OLYMPIA. — Pedimental Sculptures. — In the Jahrbuch d. k. d. Arch.
Inst. (1895, pp. 1-35), G. Treu discusses The Technical Execution and
Painting of the Pediment-groups of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (2 cuts).
Careful examination of details gives the following results : The blocks
were nearly rectangular when taken from the quarry. Pointed and
toothed chisels as well as drills were used. Numerous parts of figures
were made of separate pieces, because the marble blocks were not
large enough to furnish the entire figure. In many instances the
original design was changed in the execution. Evidently no full
sized models were made, and the pediment groups were apparently
executed from small sketches in relief. The groups were not made
with reference to the high position they were to occupy, but with ref-
erence to a spectator standing on a level with the statue about oppo-
site the centre of the composition. The figures were finished before
being hoisted into the pediments. Some were broken in being placed
in position, and others had to be altered to fit in their places. The
figures were attached to the tympanum with bolts and clamps, and
hook-shaped clamps fastened them down to the slabs laid upon the
cornice to receive them. The nude parts of human bodies were light
in color, perhaps of different shades. The prevailing color of gar-
ments was red, though other colors were used, especially in borders,
etc. The hair was about red, shaded with dark lines, yellow, white,
and darker colors. The horses and horse-bodies of centaurs were for
the most part red. Numerous details were given prominence by light
coloring and gilding. The tympanum was doubtless blue. In all,
more than three-fourths of the surfaces (including cornices, etc.) were
covered with coloring. The coloring aimed at was broad decorative
effect.
PHALERON. — Not far from Cape Colias, in Attica, a most important
discovery has lately been made. During the construction of a restau-
rant on the Phaleric coast, Dr. Wiegand, of the German Archaeologi-
cal Institute, remarked a wall built up with lime, which was found
barely covered by the soil, and guided by this relic he came on the
foundations of a whole building. Some arches and circular rooms
indicated that it was a Roman bath, which was undoubtedly attached
to a villa of the Roman period. But in the inner divisions the floor
and coloring are of Greek times. The coloring consists of mortar, of
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422 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Turkey.]
which a thin and beautiful fragment remains ; the colors are well pre-
served in some portions of the upper coating. But the pavement
consists of well-compressed clay.
This structure was in any case a private residence. On the south
side stood a hall, and of the pillars encircling it some fragments re-
main. These columns consisted of bricks of burnt earth, in wedge
shape, each of which was provided with three holes. These brick
columns were covered with cement and are fluted in imitation of mar-
ble columns. Not far from this ruin a whole row of foundations of
rooms belonging to another ancient building were discovered. In the
Middle Ages, or at least under Turkish rule, a tower or watch station
was built in a portion of the Romano-Greek villa. Only the founda-
tions of this tower have been discovered.
In the same excavations a beautiful Attic tomb relief was unearthed.
On it is represented a lady who sits on a stool ; before her steps a
maid holding a casket, out of which the lady is seeking to take some-
thing. This relief belongs to the type already represented by several
specimens at Athens. — Hestia, May 18, and Athenseum, June 29, 1895.
SPARTA. —From Sparta is reported the discovery of an early relief,
perhaps archaic, representing two figures of men, probably the Dios-
kouroi, and between them two amphoree. — Athenmum, June 29, 1895.
TURKEY.
CONSTANTINOPLE. — The Column of Arcadius. — M. Geffroy publishes an
inedited drawing of the column of Arcadius, erected in Constantino-
ple and now destroyed. The Byzantine historians and mediaeval
travelers speak of the existence at Constantinople of two columns
decorated with spiral reliefs erected on the model of that of Trajan at
Rome. One was erected in 386 by the Emperor Theodosius the Great
in the seventh region on the third hill called Tauros ; the other by
his son Arcadius in 403 in the twelfth region on the seventh hill called
Xerolophos. The column of Theodosius fell to the ground at the
beginning of the xvi century ; that of Arcadius remained until about
1720, when it was destroyed by the Turkish government, as it threat-
ened to fall. Of the column of Theodosius we have a probable draw-
ing of part of its sculptures from an original supposed to have been
executed by Gentile Bellini under Mahomet II. Two copies of this
exist in France : one at the Louvre, the other at the Beaux-Arts. The
identification is, however, only probable, and great confusion has
always existed between the two columns.
The first accurate description of the column of Arcadius was exe-
cuted in the middle of the xvi century by a French traveler, Pierre
Gilles (f 1555). He wrote two well-known books on Constantinople,
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in the second of which there is a chapter on the seventh hill and the
column, which he describes very carefully, as far as he could study it
from the interior. The fanaticism of the Turks prevented his exam-
ining or drawing the sculptures on the outside. In 1610 an English-
man named Sandys gives in his Book of Travels an engraving of the
column with its pedestal. A couple of years ago Professor Michaelis
identified a drawing of Melchior Lorich, the famous Dutch engraver
of the xvi century, as a representation of the two upper spiral reliefs
of the column. This drawing is dated 1559. The artist was attached
to the person of Busbecq, the ambassador of Ferdinand I at Constan-
tinople. Both ambassador and artist were fond of antiquities, and
under this powerful protection Lorich was able to draw up a vast plan
of Constantinople and to make a complete drawing of the reliefs on
the column, of which the one just mentioned has alone been identified.
The drawing now published by Geffroy is part of the famous
Gaignteres collection of drawings now in the National Library in
Paris, under the number 6514. It is apparently a water-color draw-
ing of the xvu century, to judge by the quality of the paper and the
inscription.
This drawing agrees exactly with the description of Gilles, with
the Sandys engraving, and the drawing of Lorich. Seen from this
point of view, the column is divided by narrow bands into thirteen
rows of spiral reliefs and rests upon a basement with four bands of
reliefs, which repose in turn upon two projecting plinths. The date
of the drawing is more or less determined by the evident condition of
decay and ruin of the column at that time. The accounts of travelers
show that in 1547 the column was still in excellent condition ; that in
1610 there were a few fissures ; that in 1650 and 1665 the condition of
the column was not yet thought very bad. The reports of Thomas
Smith in 1672, and of Tavernier in 1675, show that the basreliefs were
then very badly damaged, the heads broken, and that bushes grew
around the pedestal. In 1680 it appears that the pedestal was used
to support a lot of shanties. Reports printed or dated in 1685 and
1686 speak of the column as likely to fall, and about this time it was
that the Turkish government sought to strengthen it by the iron cir-
cles which are shown in the drawings. Now, Gaigni&res began to
form his collection in 1680 and completed it in 1711. Toward this
first date the French showed great interest in Constantinople, in view
of the aggressive policy of Louis XIV, and the ambassador, M. De
Nointel, who went to Constantinople in 1670, threw himself ardently
into the king's projects, at the same time employing a number of
artists to reproduce the monuments throughout the Turkish empire.
One of the fruits of this enterprise was Carrey's famous drawing of
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424 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.]
the Parthenon. It was then also that both Carrey and Grelot made a
series of drawings from the monuments of Constantinople. To such
a series, undertaken for the ambassador, the drawing now published
must belong.
M. Geffroy finds it extremely difficult to interpret the sculptures on
the basement and the spirals of the column. The subjects on the
pedestal seem to be of two kinds : one that of a triumph and the other
that inspired by a religious theme, as is shown by the Constantinian
monogram. In studying the question of the campaigns of Theodo-
sius and Arcadius, with a view of determining the subjects of the
spiral reliefs, M. Geffroy calls attention to the campaign undertaken
by the father and son together in 38fi against the Gruthungi on the
Danube. This tribe belonged to the eastern Goths, who were pushed
forward by the invasion of Huns, and who in seeking to violently
pass the Danube into the Roman territory were met and defeated.
There would, therefore, be great correspondence between certain events
on the columns of the two emperors relating to their common victo-
ries. M. Geffroy is unable, however, to identify any special episodes.
He closes his article by a reference to a certain enigmatical drawing
of a spiral column published by Ducangein 1680, which can be related
to either of the two columns mentioned. This drawing, taken with a
number of texts, would seem to show that there may have existed in
Constantinople a third small triumphal column with spiral reliefs, al-
though this is not certain. — Monuments et Memoires, Acad. Inscrip , T. II,
pp. 99-130.
ITALY.
Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
A BRONZE DISC IN THE CABINET DES MEDAILLES, PARIS. — In the
Cabinet des M6dailles there are two bronze medallions with similar
designs; one of these only, and that apparently a forgery, is described
in the catalogue of M. Chabouillet, the other is genuine. In the xvn
century it appears to have belonged to the collection of Cardinal
Gasparo di Carpegna. How it passed into the possession of the
French government is unknown. Upon it is represented in the upper
portion an eagle holding thunderbolts, and on either side groups of
soldiers, the foremost of whom carry standards. On one side we find
the inscription leg(io)xx V(aleria) V(ictrix) and on the other leg(io)
secunda Augusta, Below the eagle is inscribed the name Aurelius
Cervianus. The lower portion of the medal is filled with animals; to
the left a hound is chasing a rabbit ; in the centre another hound is
pursuing a stag; to the right is a lion and below two peacocks;
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{Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 425
above them is inscribed Utere fdix. The soldiers seem to be cavalry-
men, since they carry oval shields. These two legions of Roman
soldiers are known to have formed a portion of the army in Britain.
They came there in the year 43 and remained until the end of the
Empire. Their presence there is proved by a large number of inscrip-
tions. The animals here represented are those which appear in the
public sports held in the amphitheatre during the time of the Empire.
That gladiatorial contests took place in the vicinity of Roman camps
is proven by the representation of such contests upon a vase pre-
served in the Museum of Colchester. As Britain was abandoned by
the Romans in the year 409, the disc must belong to the n, in or iv
centuries. The surname Aurelius, borne by the owp<*o of this object,
makes it probable that the disc is later than the n century. — R. Cag-
nat, in Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, p. 213.
TWO STAMPED TILES FROM DALMATIA.— In the National Museum of
Bosnia-Herzegovina there are two fragments of stamped tiles of great
interest. On one of them is stamped leg iiii. Of the three legions
which could come into question — the iv Macedonian, the iv Scythian
and the iv Flavian — the character of the letters indicate the presence
of the latter. We learn now for the first time with certainty that the
legion which was stationed in Singidunum was represented by at
least one Vexillatio of the army of Dalmatia. Four inscriptions of
soldiers of the iv Flavian legion in Dalmatia have hitherto come to
light. Neither of the inscriptions nor the stamped tile give us a cer-
tain date, but it seems likely that this legion replaced the iv Mace-
donian legion in the time of Vespasian. The second tile is stamped
l xiii g, and tells us that a detachment of the xni legion was for a
time established in Bosnia. This tile was found in Velika Kladusa.
Since Kladusa is near the supposed boundary between Pannonia and
Dalmatia, the question arises to which province this place belonged.
The inscription, dating from the beginning of the n century, tell us
of the army of Pannonia superior, and if we suppose this stamped tile
to be a reminiscence of this army, it follows that the town Velika Kla-
dusa belonged to the province of Pannonia rather than Dalmatia. We
may accordingly place the boundary line somewhat further south. —
C. Patsch, in Roem. Mitth., ix, p. 233.
FONTANELLATO. — A Prehistoric Town or Terramara. — Prof. Pigorini
completes in the Scavi for January, 1895, his account of the excava-
tions in this terramara. The results of the excavations which he had
already carried on from 1888 to 1893, have been described in previous .
numbers of the Journal. The present notes report the discoveries
made during 1894. The previous discoveries made on this site have v
been the principal means of giving a clear idea of the form and char-
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426 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy. 1
acteristics of prehistoric stations of this class. Like all the other
quadrilateral and Jbrapezoidal stations, it is surrounded by a dyke
which rests against a wooden line of palings, which rises on its inner
side, while its outer side is surrounded by a ditch in which was run-
ning water from a neighboring current. Access was had to the sta-
tion by a single wooden bridge across the middle of the south side,
remains of which still exist. Carrying a line along the axis of this
bridge until it reaches the northern wall, the station is thus divided
into two equal parts — the eastern and the western — by means of a
road from north to south. In the western half is the pnlafitUi on
which were the houses and their remains. In the eastern half this is
to be found onjy at the two ends. The centre is entirely occupied by
a most peculiar arrangement, namely, a ditch as wide as the outer
ditch but much deeper and surrounding a rectangular area oriented
in the same way as the station itself. In the centre rises an enormous
accumulation of earth raised in the form of a parallelopiped, whose
upper length is 100 m. from north to south and 50 m. from east to
west. This area appears to Professor Pigorini to be a templum in the
primitive meaning of the term, and perhaps it is the germ of what
afterwards came to be the arx of the Italian cities and the prKtorium
of the Roman camp.
Outside of the area of the settlement near the border of the ditchr
to the west and to the southeast, are two necropoleis of cremated bodies.
One of these, that on the southeast, having been excavated, it was
found that the inhabitants not only were in the habit of exposing
vases containing the remains, but raised them on a platform supported
by pales. The cemetery was also surrounded by a ditch which was
crossed on the western side by a wooden bridge. In other words, they
gave to the city of the dead the same respect and care as to the city of
the living.
This is in brief the result of the first six years' work. Professor
Pigorini in the excavations of 1894 determined to solve the following
problems : (1) From what side and in what way was access had to the
internal area, which he calls the templum; (2) by what means was it
possible to sustain its four sides vertically along the edge of the ditch,
and (3) is there anything in the area itself to determine its purpose.
The first problem was solved by the discovery in the middle of the
western side of a considerable mass of wooden beams along a width
of only 15 m. Not a trace of such remains was found anywhere else;
here evidently rose a wooden bridge which was the means of access.
The bridge has further importance in determining the internal ar-
rangement of the prehistoric station, for its axis divides the station
from east to west into equal sides ; also the southern and the northern
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 427
in exactly the same way as the larger bridge leading into the station
and which is at right angles to this bridge, divides it equally from
north to south. These two bridges are therefore the signs of the two
principal streets, the Kardo and the Decumanvs, which met in the centre
of the city. It appears as if these two streets were quite unequal
in width ; the main street from north to south being 15 m. wide and
that from east to west 7} m. The wider of the two was apparently
the Kardo. The second point was to ascertain how the sides of the
artificial mound could be sustained along the edges of the ditch.
After determining exactly the four corners of the area, deep trenches
were opened in three of them ; but the solution of the problem was
given only at one corner; that of the N. E. It is known that in that
part of the valley of the Po in which this station is situated, the sur-
face consists of a sandy yellowish clay deposited by recent overflows
and below this a tenacious and bluish sandy clay which may have
been transported from the hills in the quaternary period by the great
water course. As the yellowish clay is permeable, all the wooden
substances in it were consumed in time without leaving the slightest
trace. The bluish clay on the contrary preserves forever all the vege-
table remains that are lodged in it, including even leaves. Now, the
great mass of earth accumulated on this eastern side of the station
consists of the yellow clay, so that whatever wooden structures may
have been used along its sides to strengthen it, no trace could have
been left of them at this late date. Fortunately, in a certain part of
the station to the N. E. and E. when the inhabitants fixed their abode
here, the yellow clay had but just arrived, so that it overlaid but very
slightly the blue clay. Hence, it was with the blue clay that the N.
E. corner was constructed. It was here that the discovery was made
that the base of the mound was not merely of earth, but consisted of
groups of pales mixed with clay. The bunches of pales and the single
pales were sunk as far as the natural soil and were perfectly well pre-
served. They formed a support about 5 m. wide in which the pales
were arranged in six parallel lines 90 cm. apart. From the top of this
rampart the earth rose on an incline.
Professor Pigorini's attempts to solve the third problem, that of the
use of this mound and the constructions upon it, was almost fruitless,
because the mass of earth forming it was of the yellow clay, and any
constructions of wood must have been long since destroyed. One very
interesting and singular fact was, however, discovered ; that was the
existence along the axis of the bridge of a long ditch 25 m. in length
and 5 m. in breadth with a maximum depth of about 3.50 m. This
ditch was found to be filled with earth mixed with Roman bricks.
This shows that when the station was abandoned by its original in-
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428 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Italy.}
habitants and occupied by the Romans, the ditch was still open and
had been kept open from the beginning. In clearing it out it was
found that the bottom was divided into five rectangular wells ; the
central being square and measuring 150 m. each way ; the other four
measuring in every case 250 m. by 5 m. Each well was covered with
a slab sustained by crosspieces, a number of which were in good pre-
servation. All the five contained a considerable quantity of shells of
the unio pictorum, a few remnants of historic pottery, some bones of
quadrupeds, etc. It is evident that the ditch was kept open in order
to show the presence of these five wells; but the objeot of the wells
seems a mystery. No such thing has been found in any other prehis-
toric station nor in any early cities. The only light thrown upon their
use came from Germany from two Roman camps in the province
Hesse Nassau at Zugmantel and Saalburg. In these camps Jacobi,
who has so much to do with discoveries of this kind in Germany, dis-
covered rectangular wells about the same size dug in the earth along
the line of the decumanus and containing objects similar to those found
in the wells of this station. These objects must be regarded as the
Signa, which were buried at the time of the laying out of the camp.
GROTTAMARE.— The Temple of the Goddess Cupra and a Votive Relief.—
Prof. Gamurrini writes a short paper in the Scaviy January, 1895, on
the site of the temple of the goddess Cupra. The ruins of the ancient
Cupra Marittima, in the province of Picenum, belong to the period
when the population of the early city was forced to remove from the
stronger and more elevated site of the primitive city, the exact location
of which has been doubted. Here were situated the famous Tyrrhenian
Pelasgi and their ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Cupra and re-
corded by Strabo. Gamurrini locates the temple on the site of the
church and monastery of S. Martin, near Grottamare. The fact that the
abbey of S. Martin is regarded as one of the first in Italy, makes it ex-
tremely probable that the monks, with their usual desire to extirpate
the ancient religion, erected their church on the site of the temple
itself, dedicating it to S. Martin, who was regarded especially as the
conqueror of the demon of Paganism. This is confirmed by the an-
tiquities still remaining, both within and without the church.
The most interesting of the ancient objects in the church is a bas-
relief upon a square cippus, a good work of art of the close of the
Roman Republic. It probably was one of the votive cippi dedicated
in the temple. The excavations made show that the church rises not
directly upon the site of the temple, but upon that of the adjoining
baths, which were built by the Emperor Hadrian. The interest of the
votive cippus just referred to consists in the peculiar helmet which is
carved upon it in natural size; it is carefully modelled, and every
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detail is well given. Its distinctive peculiarity consists in curved
ram's horns on the sides of the headpiece to cover the temples.
Above the crest rise in unbroken line heavy feathers, probably cock-
tails. Of course this helmet, of both martial and elegant appearance,
was copied from a bronze original, but nothing like it in form or deco-
ration had hitherto been discovered. It was already known that
horns were used by different peoples on their helmets ; such was the
custom with the Scandinavians, Germans, Gauls, Thracians, Epirots,
etc., but in none of these cases were the horns ram's horns. By com-
parison with two bronze helmets in the Museum of Ascoli, which,
though badly injured, appear to have been decorated with ram's horns
imitated in bronze, and from information of similar helmets discovered
in other parts of the province of Picenum, and even as far as Novilara,
near Pesaro, it appeared certain that this basrelief from the temple of
Cupra reproduces the national helmet of the people of Picenum, and
perhaps of the Sabellic peoples. This superbly plumed crest, which
added in apparent height and impressiveness to the figure, may be the
same noted by Livy in the description of the arms of the Samnites.
The basrelief may, therefore, have been consecrated by a military
leader.
POMPEII. — Treasure of Bo8coreale. — The importance of the treasure
found at Boscoreale, near Pompeii, cannot be exaggerated. Nothing
equals it save the famous Hildesheira treasure. It evidently belonged
to some wealthy inhabitant of Pompeii, who fled with it to his coun-
try house, hoping to escape the catastrophe. Baron Edmond Roth-
schild has bought it and presented it to the Louvre.
ROME. — Reconstruction of the Ara Pacis Augu*tae. — The Emperor
Augustus tells us that : Cum ex Hispania Oalliaque rebus in his prawn-
cm prospere gestis Roman redii Ti. Nerone P. Quiniilio conmlibus aram
Pacis Augusts^ senatus pro reditu meo consacrari censuit ad campum Mar-
tium, in qua magistratus et sacerdotes et virgines VestaUs anniversarium
8aerificium facere ivssit. This ara was erected or conslituta on the 4th
of July, the year 13 b. c, and on the 30th of January of the year 9
b. c. it was dedicated, dedicata est Druso et Crispino cos. Professor von
Duhn was the first to recognize, as remains of this important monu-
ment, the marbles which had been excavated at various times, that is
before 1550, then in 1568 and finally in 1859, on the site of the
Ottoboni-Fiano palace, between the Via in Lucina and the square of
the same name. Only the result of the last of these excavations has
remained in the Fiano palace; the marbles found before this were
dispersed, and are now preserved at Florence in the Uffizi, in Rome at
the Villa Medici, one slab in the Belvedere Court at the Vatican and
one in the Louvre at Paris. The reliefs and ornaments divide the
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430 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.]
slabs belonging to this monument into three classes : (1) Slabs form-
ing a frieze representing processions ; (2) similar slabs with festoons
suspended from bucranes; (3) larger slabs covered with beautiful
vines and flowers. The common origin of these three classes, so far
as they existed at the Uffizi, had already been recognized by Diitschke,
Antike BUdwerke in Oberitalien in, p. 11. Diitschke was not, however,
aware of the existence of the other remains outside of the Uffizi; it
was von Duhn, in a pamphtet published in 1879 and afterwards in
1881, who gathered all the material together and undertook the resto-
ration of the entire monument. His plates reproducing the sculptures
were extremely useful, but his architectural reconstruction is entirely
erroneous and fantastic, because he started with the idea that it was
an altar.
Professor E. Petersen, in a long and convincing article in the Roem.
Mitth. of the German Institute, undertakes a careful reconstruction
of the Ara. He first shows that von Duhn's idea that the slabs were
mostly basreliefs applied to a solid background is untenable, because
all the slabs were originally carved on both sides, and this is proved
by the correspondence of Cardinal Ricci, who had the blocks sawed in
two. The only explanation of the use and position of these blocks, as
Petersen shows, is to suppose that they were seen from both sides and
were erected upon a basement in the shape of a frieze. A study of the
dimensions and thickness of the blocks shows that they can be di-
vided into two series. The first series 1.55 m. high representing the
processions; the second series 1.30 m. wide and a little thicker deco-
rated with vines and flowers intermingled with birds. The greater
size and thickness of the second series indicates that they formed a
lower frieze upon which the smaller and thinner processional frieze
was erected. The conclusion is that we have here not the constituent
parts of an altar, but of an enclosing wall within which the altar, of
which no trace has been found, may have been placed.
Without following the author in the intricate discussion, which ex-
tends over sixty pages of the Bulletin, we will simply give his results.
He concludes that the enclosure forms a square measuring 10.16 m.
on each side, by external measurement. The exterior of the enclosure
is decorated with extreme elaboration ; the interior is extremely sim-
ple. An entrance was had to the enclosure by means of a door of
Ionic style 2.35 m. wide. The approximate height is reached by join-
ing together two lines of slabs and adding a dividing band and a base,
which together make a height of about 4 m. The basement and the
architrave bring the total height to over 6 m.
Now, the subject of the upper of the external reliefs is a sacrificial
procession in two main sections. These two divisions are represented
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as moving from the centre of the rear toward the front, as in the Par-
thenon frieze, meeting at the door of entrance. Each part is therefore
divided in three sections : two extremely short ones at the beginning
and end enclosed between pilasters, and one uninterrupted long sec-
tion occupying the entire length of each side. Nearly 18 m. of this
frieze remain. The left hand frieze is complete, and is composed ap-
parently of civil persons. The procession on the right is wanting in
more than the length of 3 m. Here almost all the principal figures
are provided with ritual attributes in contrast to the civil figures of
the opposite side. The camillus bears the figure of a lares ; the figure
wearing the apex is regarded as Augustus by von Duhn; and the
series closes with two figures also wearing the apex. Probably the
other two Flamens between the former and the latter appear to have
been the Sacerdotal College. After this comes the figure with the axe,
and after him the leader of the entire procession of men, women and
children. He is represented as an old man, and the connection be-
tween him and all the following figures is made certain by the way in
which a little child, probably his grandson, is holding on to his toga,
turning his head toward the woman who follows, while a youth bends
over the boy. Then come a handsome youthful couple, the parents
of two children, one of whom each is holding by the hand. Three
or four other figures are closely united to this group, and with them
form a numerous and evidently a distinguished family. The heads
are characteristic, but according to the style of the time of Augustus,
more ideal than the art immediately preceding or following it. Hence
it seems hazardous to attempt to identify, with the help of coins or
other material. It is more the general correspondence and the group-
ing together of persons of such number and age that makes probable
the interpretation of Diitschke, which although criticised has been gen-
ally adopted, for example by Milani in the German BvlleUino, 1891,
pp. 288 and 316. This opinion of Diitschke is that we have here the
family of Augustus. Petersen differs somewhat in his individual
identifications and would recognize the different members of the fam-
ily in the following order : Augustus with Lucius and then Livia ;
then Anthony with Livilla, Drusus and Germanicus ; after them Julia
and Julia the younger and Tiberius. The boughs carried by many of
the figures in the two processions are not of olive, as Milani thinks,
although this would be of course the emblem of peace, but they are
of laurel, because at Rome peace was right only when preceded by
victory. Also, the laurel which was sacred to Apollo, the special
divinity of Augustus, was his favorite tree, and hence is reproduced
on the altars of the lares. To Apollo also belong the swans that rest
above upon the vines of the outer walls, in the midst of which were
also figured crowns of laurel.
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432 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy ]
The procession starts from a central group in the rear opposite to
the point where the altar stands in the interior. Three figures are
represented, which were interpreted at first as the three elements —
air, water and earth ; but the interpretation of Petersen is, that we
have here a representation of mother earth, the producer of flowers
and fruits, of animals and of the human race, accompanied, as it is in
reality, by water and by air in the form of two secondary nymphs.
It seems as if Horace had a relief of this sort under his eyes when he
composed the following strophe of the Carmen sxculare, or that the
artist of this relief was inspired by these few verses :
fertilis frugum pecorisque tellus
spicea donet Cererem corona,
nutriant fetus et aquae salubres
et Jovis aurae.
This poem was composed partly before the return of Augustus in
13 b. c, and hence before the construction of the ara pads, while other
parts were contemporary with it. In them praise is given for the
reestablishment of faith and moral peace and justice; but as the basis
of all this moral prosperity, praise is given also to the material pros-
perity, fertility and abundance in very much the same spirit as our
relief. Petersen calls attention to the fact that the same idea of the
Carmen sseculare is expressed upon the exquisite reliefs on the breast-
plate of the famous statue of Augustus. The idea of the pacification
of the earth, and its consequent rejoicing and prosperity, was con-
nected with Augustus, not only during his reign but afterwards, and
was variously called Srcuritas Aug., FeliciUis August, or Publica or
Sacculi ; and it was also called Pax Aug. It was therefore quite in
harmony with these ideas, that the pacified earth should be the start-
ing point for the great procession celebrating the peace of Augustus
in connection with this commemorative monument. This idea is
confirmed by the theory of Petersen, that the sacrifice which is being
offered by this procession is a sacrifice to mother earth or Tellus,
whose temple was situated in the Qirinae. The second divinity — for
there are two — to whom the procession does honor, is Peace ; and as
the figure of Tellus was at the head of one of the two processions, so
the figure of Peace was at the head of the other.
The ornamentation of the interior appears to have consisted of very
simple features. There were groups of pilasters connected by festoons
hanging from bucranes (or ox-skulls) resting upon a moulded base
and supporting an architrave. In the centre of one of the sides oppo-
site the door, and corresponding to it in width, appears to have been
a niche, in which may have stood a figure of the fertile earth. A very
careful comparison is instituted by Petersen between this interior, on
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the one hand — with its details, its altar, its niche and its statue — and,
on the other hand, many architectural features imitated in Roman
frescoes, which might throw some light upon his construction of the
details. He shows how the aedicula should be reconstructed with poly-
chromatic decoration, both from the analogy of these paintings and
from some fragments of painted sculpture, evidently remains of a
similar structure found in 1888 in the former Villa Ludovisi.
Attention is called by the author to the fact that the reconstruction
which he gives of this monument does not at all agree with its plan as
given by Lanciani on plate viii of his Forma Urbis Romae. — Peter-
sen in Roem. Mitth., ix, 1894, pp. 171-228.
Fragment of a Votive Relief in the Museum of the Capitol. — In the
year 1882 the Glyptothek at Munich acquired a votive relief (Brunn,
Beschreibung, No. 85 a), the genuineness of which has been universally
recognized. The chief ground for doubt has been the isolated charac-
ter of this monument. It seemed to be the only example of a devel-
opment of the votive relief upon Greek soil analogous to the decora-
tive reliefs of Alexandria. Earlier examples from this series seemed
to be wanting. Amelung publishes in the Roem. Mitth. a relief in
the Museum of the Capitol, which forms an early link in this series.
Here are represented Asklepios and Hygieia, and at their feet the
acred serpent. The god is seated upon an armchair and wears as
himation, which covers the lower portion of his body and his back.
In his left hand he carries an attribute, which seems to be a sceptre.
In front of him Hygieia is standing in graceful attitude leaning upon
a quadrangular stele. In the background is a portico represented by
quadrangular piers supporting an architrave. In front of one of the
openings hangs a curtain, which forms a background for the figure of
Hygieia. The surface of this monument has suffered considerably, and
certain portions, the head of Hygieia, the head and upper portions of
the serpent, the two legs of the armchair and some minor details are res-
torations. In the Nuova Descrizione del Mmeo Cupitolino, it is suggested
that to the right of these figures there may have been represented a
number of smaller figures in adoration, but for such a restoration
there seems to be no ground whatever. At most we might suppose
the presence of the other daughters or the sons of Asklepios. The
type of Asklepios is important for determining the date of the monu-
ment, since it belongs to the iv century and is analogous to the As-
klepios of Melos. The attitude of Hygieia is similar to that of the
Satyr with the flute, dating from the beginning of the in century.
Parallels for the drapery of Hygieia are found in the Polymnia of the
Vatican, the type of which belongs to the second half of the iv cen-
tury, and stands in close relationship to Praxiteles, and in that of the
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434 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.]
Muse of the Chigi Rilief, Roem. Mitih , 1893, pi. n— in. Since all of
these parallels are drawn from Attic work of the last quarter of the r
century, it seems probable that we have before us an Attic monu-
ment. In comparison with this the Munich example is in much higher
relief and richer in detail, forming a later development of the series
represented by the fragment in the Capitol. We may now find other
votive reliefs dating farther back in the iv century ; for example, the
relief of Herakles in the Museo Archeologico in Venice and a fragment
of a votive relief to Herakles from Ithome (Schoene, Griech. Reliefs, T.
xx vn, No. 112), also two votive reliefs to Asklepios and Hygieia from
the south side of the Akropolis {Bull, de Oorr. Hell., 1878, pi. vii-viii).
In similar manner examples of votive reliefs from the v century,
namely, the reliefs of Nymphs, exhibit in the background a rock be-
fore which is seen the upper half of the body of Pan ; in the iv cen-
tury such reliefs assume the form of a grotto, in the midst of which
Hermes dances with the Nymphs, while Pan and Acheloos appear
upon the outer edge. We may not, therefore, infer that Greek art in
the period of its highest bloom rejected backgrounds in relief alto-
gether; such examples appear in minor works of art, and especially
in votive reliefs. — W. Amelung, Roem. MittL, ix, p. 75.
Inscription of the Arval Brothers. — There has been found not far from
the castle of St. Angelo an interesting fragment of an inscription be-
longing to the apse (?) of the Arval brothers. It is part of the solemn
invocation in which the clergy, at the beginning of every year, ex-
pressed good wishes for the safety of the emperor. For the following
reasons it belongs to a very early date and to the years between 50-54
a. d., in the reign of Claudius. It is inscribed upon a marble tablet
of narrow dimensions, measuring only 0.26 m. in width, each line
containing only about twenty letters. A second peculiarity is, that
while all similar inscriptions are in the name of the head of the priest-
hood, fratrum Arvalium nomine, in this inscription, on the contrary, the
formula used is pro conlegio fratrum Arvalium. These two peculiarities
are to be found in only one other inscription of the series, which is
known to have belonged between the years 50-54, and there are rea-
sons for believing that the two are part of one and the same tablet
registering the sacrifices of September 23d and 24th, and mentioning
the annual supplications on January 3d for the safety of Claudius.
Professor Gatti restores the preamble and the text of the supplication
in the Not. d. Scavi, 1894, pp. 363-364.
Museums. — The Museum of National Antiquities in the Baths of
Diocletian at Rome has opened new rooms of sculpture. M. F. Ber-
nabei has, moreover, organized two rooms especially devoted to the
Lombard period. One contains objects for the use of men, the other
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[Italy.] ARCH2E0L0Q1CAL NEWS. 435
jewels and other feminine ornaments. — Chronique des Arts, 1895,
p. 95.
In these collections the Lombard period is for the first time ade-
quately represented in its industrial arts by means of the contents of
tombs discovered during recent years, and which contained a wealth
of interesting objects such as heretofore had not been found.
Concerning the Apollo Belvedere.— H. Freerichs, in a study entitled
Der Apoll von Belvedere (Paderborn, 1894), from a number of observa-
tions, comes to the rash conclusion that the Apollo was found without
the left lower leg, without feet, and without the tree trunk. As his
argument is partially based upon the character of the marble, we may
observe that greater differences exist between portions which are un-
doubtedly of the same block than between those portions which he
distinguishes as old and new. There is little foundation for his other
arguments in proving his original thesis. — Petersen, Roem. Mitth., ix,
p. 249.
Statue of the seated Asklepk>6. — The statue of the seated Asklepios
found in the middle of the north side of the Pincio has been recently
cleaned, so that we may the more readily detect the restorations and
thereby distinguish the original parts of the statue. The marble seems
to be Pentelic, therefore Greek. According to Matz and von Duhn
the restorations are : the left arm from the middle of the upper por-
tion, the lower portion of the right arm, the neck, a large portion of
the serpent and the right knee. The bearded head is declared antique
and original, and it is supposed that the left hand held a sceptre.
This would make the statue very much like the statue of Thrasyme-
des. But the head is certainly not original. It is more advanced in
style and of different marble; moreover, the throne is entirely a re-
storation with the exception of the front legs and the middle portion
of the back. The original throne was of the same type as that in the
statue of Menander. Less successful restorations have been the right
knee, a large portion of the left, together with the outer half of the
upper portion of the left leg. The left as well as the right arm,
together with a portion of the shoulder, are entirely restored, also a
portion of the left side. The right arm find hand were in all proba-
bility brought into relationship with the serpent. It is impossible
that the left hand should have held a sceptre, as was probably the
case in the two reliefs from Epidauros. The position of the left arm
would in al lprobability be similar to that of the Menander. Judging
from the simplicity of the drapery and the character of the nude por-
tions of the statue, it may be assigned to the v century. The form of
the throne is found in Attic tomb reliefs, and the. pose is like that of
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486 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Itjllt.]
Zeus and Hephaistos on the Parthenon frieze. — Petersen in Roem.
Mitth., ix, p 74.
Casts and Photographs of the Column of Marcus Aurelius. — Scaffolds
have been erected around the column of Marcus Aurelius with a view
of taking moulds and photographs of all the spiral basreliefs which
cover the surface of this column. The funds are supplied by the Em-
peror of Germany and the Grand Duke of Baden. The work is under
the direction of Professors Petersen and Domaszewski, and the archi-
tectural part under the direction of Professor Callerini. The photo-
graphs will be taken by Mr. Anderson and the moulds by Sig. Pier-
norelli. After this has been done an illustrated publication with
explanatory text will be brought out at Munich by the successors of
Bruckmann. — Chronique, 1895, No. xix.
The above work has disclosed the fact that the reliefs of the column
are in a very poor state of preservation, and that it was ample time
they were reproduced and saved for science.
A Miracle on the Column of Marcus Aurelius. — For the study of repre-
sentations of Germans in Roman art, the column of Marcus Aurelius
furnishes an important document. Portions of this column have been
already photographed, and enable us to substitute a reasonable inter-
pretation for the myth of the Legio Fulminata, which is found early in
Christian writers. In the writings of Apollinarios, Tertullian, Euse-
bios, Orosius, and in the later writings of Xiphilinos, Zonaras and
Kedrenos, we find with more or less variation the following five
points regarding this myth: (1) the antithesis between the rain which
refreshed the Romans and the lightning which destroyed the enemy ;
(2) that both rain and lightning followed the prayers of the Chris-
tians in the twelfth legion ; (3) that this legion was on that account
named Kcpawo/JoAos (Lat. fuhrinata) ; (4) that this name was given by
the Emperor Marcus Aurelius ; and (5) that subsequent persecution
of the Christians was prohibited. A study of the photographs shows
us that the representation of lightning and of the rain are not so im-
mediately connected as would appear from these accounts, although
they are brought into apparent relation to each other through the
spiral character of the representation. It also appears that the indi-
viduals upon their knees are not Romans, but Germans. It is also
known that the name Fulminata was given to this legion before the
battle represented. The supposed letter of Marcus Aurelius either
had no existence or was a forgery. — Petersen in Roem. MiUh.y ix,
p. 78.
An interesting Lamp. — At a meeting of the Academie des Inscriptiond,
M. Georges Perrotread a communication from Dr. W. Helbig, upon a
Roman lamp belonging to Sig. Martinelli, of Rome, which bears a bas-
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[Italy.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 437
relief of a novel character. The style of the art and the lettering of
the inscription assigns it to the beginning of the imperial period. The
design shows two gladiators, heavily armed, who are attacking each
other ; while a lanista separates them, holding a staff in his right hand,
and in his left what looks like a palm. Behind each gladiator is a
crown. Both are armed more or less in the style of those called Sam-
nltes or seadores, though only one of them has the characteristic curved
sword (sica). Beneath the bas-relief is a titulus containing the in-
scription :
SABIKYS
POPILLIVS
These two names cannot belong to the gladiators ; for it is altogether
opposed to Roman usage to distinguish one man by his cognomen, and
another by the name of his gens. Besides, the names are those of
citizens, and could hardly be given to gladiators. Most probably the
titidus indicates the name of the maker of the lamp : Popillius Sabinus
— this inversion of the cognomen and gentile name being common as
early as Cicero's time. Moreover, there exist several terracotta cups,
bearing the name of a maker called Gaius Popilius : one of them gives
also the name of the town, Merania in Umbria, where this Popilius
had his workshop. These cups belong to the end of the third and
the first half of the second century b. c. Is it possible that the maker
of the lamp was a descendant of the maker of the cups? Behind the
crown on the right is the letter s, and above the head Of the lanista
are the letters mis, which Dr. Helbig did not attempt to explain. —
Academy, Dec. 1, 1894.
RONCAGLIA.— Discovery of the Ancient Theatre of Augusta Bagiennorum.—
— Excavations upon the site of the ancient city of Augusta Bagien-
norum, led among other things to the discovery of the ancient theatre.
No attempt was made to completely clear the area of the theatre.
Trial trenches alone were dug at intervals, in order to ascertain its
form, size and age. The cavea consists of three semicircular walls, the
inner wall being connected with the central wall by radiating trans-
verse walls between which are conical vaults. The middle wall was
probably joined to the outer wall by a tunnel vault, which supported
the marble seats. It is peculiar that these three walls did not by any
means have a common centre, which may be explained by the pres-
ence of only two staircases at the ends of the cavea. The diameter
of the orchestra is 22.20 m. ; that of the surrounding wall 57.50 m. ;
the length of the scena 40.50 m. ; width of the proscenium in the
centre 7.20 m. and on the sides 5.25 m. Sufficient fragments were
found to make possible the reconstruction of the decoration of the
stage with its doors, pilasters, cornices, its thin slabs of colored
marbles from its stuccoes, etc. — Not. d. Scavi, 1894, pp. 155-158.
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438 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Italy.]
SUBJACO — Statue of Athlete. — In the Jahrbuch Arch. List. (1895, pp.
46-85) A. Kalkmann discusses The Statue from Subiaco (PI. i, 13 cuts).
The statue has been published, Ant. Denkm., I PL 56, and Brunn-
Bruckmann, Denkm. No. 249. Head, left arm and nearly all the right
arm are missing. The left arm once touched the right knee. The
right arm extended upwards and forwards. The right foot is ad-
vanced, the knee much bent. The left knee almost touches the
ground. The treatment of muscles and anatomy is that of the early v
century. The position appears by comparison with vase-paintings,
etc., to be that of rapid running. Myron's Ladas must have resembled
the bronze original of this marble figure, but comparison with
Myron's discobolos shows that the original of the figure from Subiaco
belongs to a different school and a slightly less highly developed art
than that of Myron. Possibly the artist of this work was Pythagoras
of Rhegion.
VETULONIA. — A Gold Fibula. — On the so-called Poggio alle Birbe on
the hill of Vetulonia, close to a circle of stones where had been found
two peculiar statuettes, one of a man and the other of a woman con-
nected by a double bronze chain, there was found by chance a won-
derful gold fibula made of solid metal and the body of which is
entirely decorated in most delicate and beautiful style with tiny gold
granules hardly perceptible to the eye. The fibula is of the form
which is called a pulviscolo. On one side are two large sphinxes
affronted and standing touching each other with, a raised forepaw.
One has a horse's head with a giraffe's neck and upon its back is a
quadruped like a deer. Back of it and under its hind legs are two
other quadrupeds while directly under it stands a man. The other
sphinx is winged and with a male head and with a quadruped back
of him and one under him. Between the two sphinxes there rises
upon his hind legs another animal, a strange winged antelope-like
creature. On the other side there are also two sphinxes with similar
subordinate figures. The two bases of the body or mignatta of the
fibula are also decorated with figures of animals. — Not. d. Scavi, 1894,
pp. 335-360.
A. L. Frothingham, Jr.
Allan Marquand.
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JOURNAL OF ARCH^q
VOL. X. PLATE XXI.
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american
Journal of Archaeology.
Vol. X. OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1895. No. 4.
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA EXPEDITION TO
BABYLONIA.
III. THE COURT OF COLUMNS AT NIPPUR.
[Plate xxi.]
In a former article in the American Journal of Archeology,
Jan.-March, 1895, pp. 13-47, I described at some length the
excavations of the temple of Bel at Nippur. The site of the tem-
ple occupies but a small portion of the ruin mounds at that
place, and far the larger part of our finds of inscriptions were
excavated in other portions of the ruins. One large cache of fine
baked tablets of the Cossaean dynasty was discovered in connec-
tion with a large building of most interesting character on the
southwestern side of the Shatt-en-Nil, directly opposite the temple,
in that part of the mounds marked I in the plate accompanying
my last article, and also in the plan of levels (Plate xxi). In
the first year of our excavations our camp was pitched on the
highest point of the mounds on that side of the old canal bed,
marked 24 metres on the plan of levels, near the figure I on that
plan (Fig. 48). There was some delay in commencing excava-
tions because, not having filed a topographical plan at the time of
application for a firman, according to the law, it was agreed that
after reaching Nippur we should not begin to excavate until
such a plan had been prepared, and accepted by the Turkish
government,
489
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440 JOHN P. PETERS.
During the few days while the plan was in preparation we were
occupied in building our camp. For this purpose bricks were
needed, and workmen were sent out to gather them wherever
they could be found upon the surface of the mound. Some of
the men engaged in this search found a brick structure just
appearing above the earth in a gully beneath the camp to the
northeast, and proceeded on their own responsibility to excavate
the structure and remove the bricks. Some of the bricks which
they brought in were inscribed. This led to an investigation of
Fig. 48. — Camp from east, first tear, 1888-89, great trench in
foreground.
the source of supply, and induced us to commence excavations at
the point where brickwork had been discovered containing in-
scribed bricks. The brickwork proved to be part of a tomb made
of bricks taken from various structures, chiefly on the temple
hill, prominent among which were bricks of Ur-Gur, Ishme-
Dagan and Meli-Shiha (Assurbanipal). In this tomb were found
one coffin, several bodies, and great quantities of pottery, beads
and small objects. Not far away we discovered a second tomb
(Fig. 49), containing at least ten bodies, buried at different times
— some even after the roof had caved in, This tomb was built upon
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 441
a fragment of a brick column. All about both tombs were coffins
— I had almost said countless coffins — of clay, side by side, in
nests, one across another, two and even three bodies in one
coffin. Sometimes jars had served as coffins. Indeed, the inter-
ments were in every conceivable fashion. Naturally we at first
supposed that we had found the necropolis of Nippur, and the
columnar construction which we unearthed at this point we at
first imagined to have had some connection with the interment
of the dead. But as our work proceeded it became manifest
Fig. 49. — Tomb and coffins on ruins of Babylonian palace.
that, whatever might have led to the choice of this particular spot
for so many interments, they had no direct connection with the
intention of the building itself, every interment having taken
place after the building had lain in ruins for a long period.
The building which we thus accidentally discovered, and which
has not yet been completely explored, proved to be, next to the
temple itself, the most interesting and ambitious structure exca-
vated at Nippur up to date. The court of columns which we
first laid bare (Fius. 50 and 51) was fifteen metres square. The
fioor consisted of a pavement of unbaked bricks of small size and
good make, two to three metres in depth. Around this, on three
sides, ran a sort of edging consisting of a double row of burned
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442 JOHN P. PETERS.
bricks, out of which rose four round brick columns resting on
square pillars of brick descending about a metre beneath the sur-
face (Fig. 52). The southeastern or fourth side differed from the
other three sides only in the matter of the brick pavement between
the columns, for on this side there were four rows of bricks instead
of two, making a complete pavement. On the northeastern side,
owing to the slope of the hill in that direction, the brick pave-
Fio. 60. — Court op columns. Excavations of 1889. Scale, .008 m.= 1 m.
Scale of plan of column, .016 m. = 1 m.
ment and the foundations of the columns were almost entirely
washed away; nevertheless, from the little which remained, it
seemed probable that this side was the same as the northwestern
and southwestern sides, and I have ventured to assume that this
was the case. The corner columns were of a peculiar shape,
partly rounded, partly square, as will be seen by a reference to
the plan (Fig. 50). The corners were 12° off the cardinal points,
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA.
443
as in the case of the Temple. In front of this court, on the
southeast side, were the remains of a long narrow pavement, on
which stood two columns of larger size, but everything else in
this direction was ruined by water.
The columns of the court were almost exactly a metre in
Fio. 51. — Excavations about Court of Columns, 1880.
Scale, 0.00125 M.= l M.
diameter at the base. They had been so broken up by later gen-
erations to obtain material for building that an entire column
could not be restored. The portions of the columns which were
still in place, to the height of a metre or thereabouts, were con-
stant in diameter, but some of the fragments which we found
Fio. 52— Elkvation of A B of Fig. 51, showing foundations of columns.
scattered here and there were of so much smaller size that Mr.
Field, the architect of the expedition in the first year, was in-
clined to think at first that they belonged to other columns. It
was finally shown, however, that these small pieces, the smallest
not being more than about half a metre in diameter, were parts
Fig. 68. —Elkvation of trench A B of Fig. 61, showing depth of exca-
vation BENEATH THE COURT OF COLUMNS J AL80 CONTINUATION AND
LEVEL OF TRENCH TO BOTH SIDES OF SAME.
of the same columns. One fragment, somewhat larger than the
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444 JOHN P. PETERS.
rest, showed that the rate of diminution of diameter in the upper
NS
of 1890. Solid straight links ark walls; dottkd straight links
supposkd walls; 8haded portions, kxcavations.
half of the columns was very rapid.
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 445
These columns were built of bricks especially made for the
purpose. It will be observed from the plan in Fig. 50 that the
six bricks of which the bulk of the column is composed form
each a segment of a circle, with the apex truncated, so that they
do not fit together in the center, but leave a considerable space
to be filled up by brick fragments of various sizes and shapes, no
special bricks having been made for that purpose. The bricks of
the columns were laid in mortar, not in bitumen. They were
red, hard and well baked, but somewhat brittle, tending to break
up when the attempt was made to separate them from the mor-
tar in which they were imbedded. After the columns were set up
they were evidently dressed with some sharp instrument, for the
purpose of cutting off projecting edges of bricks and mortar and
making the surface of the columns smooth and true.
It will be perceived by an examination of the plan (Fig. 50)
that the columns are not at exactly even distances from one an-
other. So on the southwestern side the distance between the
western corner and the nearest column is 1.62 m., while the dis-
tance between the southern corner and the next column is 1.76
m. The other spaces on that side are 1.69 m., 1.72 m. and
1.75 m. respectively. Such irregularities are rather characteristic
of the architecture at Nippur, and I suspect of Babylonian archi-
tecture in general.
It was evident from the line of ashes which ran along by and
outside of the columns and the heaps of ashes at each corner that,
while the court itself was probably open to the heavens, palm
beams had rested on the columns and supported a roof of a build-
ing about the court on all four sides. But at the outset the
bearings of this evidence were somewhat confused, from the fact
that after the destruction of the building its site was appropriated
for burial purposes, and we were for a time inclined to suppose
that part of the wood remains which we found in and about the
colonnade were connected with the burials which had taken
place there. Our excavations in the second year gave final evi-
dence that this was not the case, but that the remains of burning
were all to be attributed to the structure of which the court of
columns formed a part; for in the second year we were able to
show that this court was part of a very much larger structure,
which was destroyed by fire.
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446 JOHN P. PETERS.
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 447
During the first year our trenches about the court had cut
through a number of walls of mud brickr which were so disinte-
grated and ruined by fire that, with our lack of experience and
the lack of experience of our men in detecting matters of this
sort, we were unaware that we were cutting through walls. The
accompanying plan (Fig. 54) will show so much of the building
as we were able to excavate in the second year. To the north-
west of the original court of columns we found an alcove (D on
Fig. 54, also photograph, Fig. 55), which had evidently been
roofed in, the roof being supported upon two rectangular oblong
columns and two oval columns of brick, the axes of which
were 1.20 m. and .60 m. These columns rested on a platform of
three rows of bricks, beneath which was a metre of mud brick.
As will be observed, this portico was not exactly in the middle.
Nothing ever was exactly in the middle at Nippur.
The court had been surrounded by a building on all sides, ex-
cepting possibly the southeast — the walls of this building being
of unbaked brick in large blocks. The wall bounding the court
to the northeast (P on Fig. 54) was so destroyed by water,
owing to the descent of the gully in this direction, that it could
be traced only over a portion of its extent. On the southwest
two passages opened out from the court, one of these giving
entrance to a room (R), from which again another door opened
into a long corridor (0). This corridor was explored by a trench
begun in the first year and continued in the second year (Figs.
53 and 56), leading under the highest part of the hill and reach-
ing finally a depth of over thirteen metres. This was a pecu-
liarly difficult portion of the mounds to explore, since although
the trenches were purposely made of unusual breadth, they con-
stantly showed a tendency to cave in; and although we were
fortunate enough to have no accidents, nevertheless more than
once we found our trench filled up and the work of several weeks
destroyed. Such a cave-in occurred toward the end of the second
year of our excavations ; and as at that time we were also explor-
ing the temple, and much work remained to be done there, I
abandoned the further investigation of this building on Camp
Hill in order to concentrate all of my force on the temple hill.
Mr. Haynes had a somewhat similar experience in the first yeat
of his work, and as his force was small and the amount still to
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448 JOHN P. PETERS.
be done on the temple hill very great, he abandoned the explora-
tion of this building after a few weeks' work, in which he had
done little more than clear out the debris from some of my
former trenches, and concentrated his work upon the temple hill
and the hill marked X in the plan of levels, in which we made
our greatest discoveries of tablets.
In the center of the Camp Hill, under the 24 metre level, the
Fig. 56. — Great Trench at Camp Hill, looking west. Showing wall,
m m, second tear.
amount of superincumbent earth was so great that I conducted
excavations along the walls of the building, largely by tunnels, as
will be seen from the plan. There was on what seemed to be
the extreme southwestern side of the building a very large fine
wall (MM), shown in Fig. 56, built of the large blocks of mud
brick spoken of above, burned red for the most part by the con-
flagration in which the building was destroyed. This, which I
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 449
judged to be the outer wall of the building, from its position, size
and lack of doors, I traced, chiefly by tunnels, for the distance
of 50 metres, finding a corner to the west, but none to the south,
where the wall crossed a deep gully and was struck again on the
next mound beyond.
Another passage way opening from the main court at S was
closed by a door having a brick threshold and a stone door
socket. At the other end of this corridor there had been a simi-
lar door and door socket. Charred beams of palm wood in this
corridor showed the construction of the roof. Heaps of ashes,
with pieces of tamarisk on the brick threshold, were the remains
of doors and door-posts. The small chamber marked I, into
which this corridor gave access, had apparently served as a
granary, and was full of burned barley. It should be added that
in the long corridor, 0, we found at about the point marked by
the letter 0 another deposit of burned barley, as well as the re-
mains of burned palm logs from the roof.
From the chamber I a passage-way opened into a large room;
which was divided into two parts by columns different from those
in the large court, or in the smaller portico opening from it on
the northwest (E ; see also photograph, Fig. 57). There were two
columns built in the wall, in the manner indicated in the plan,
and two round columns set upon square bases, each of the bases
consisting of four courses of bricks and resting on mud brick
foundations. The circumference of these round columns was
3.95 m. Between the columns, from one side to the other, ran a
low brick wall about as high as the top of the bases ; the top of
which, I suppose, marked the floor level of this room, so that, as
in the court of columns, the square bases of the round columns
were originally below the floor surface. This room was on the
edge of a gully, toward the southeast, and was entirely washed
away from the point where the lines stop.
The round brick construction marked H, in the series of rooms
and corridors opening out of the court to the southwest, was a
well, or more probably a water-cooler.
It will be seen on looking at the plan that at the southeast of
the court first discovered there was a long low platform (TT),
but no wall, as upon the other side. On this platform, which
consisted of three courses of burned bricks resting on a substruc-
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450 JOHN P. PETERS.
ture of mud brick, stood, as already stated, two columns of
much larger size than any found elsewhere. The base of one
of these columns was in place, as indicated at F. Traces of
a second base I thought that I discovered at U. Remains
of two round columns were found strewn here and there
in the earth, from which it was clear that the diameter of the
columns at the base must have been two metres, or more than
double that of the columns of the court. This platform lay under
Fig. 57.— Round columns on square bases in room e.
a narrow mound separating the gully in which we found the
court of columns from a much steeper gully to the southeast
Near one of these columns was a fragment of a wall of unburned
brick with some courses of burned brick upon it, but what it
meant or where it led to I do not know, since everything be-
yond this point was washed away, and it was impossible to obtain
any clue for a reconstruction of the building on this side. The
form of the platform, however, and the position and size of the
two columns, suggest a gateway and an entrance to the court
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 451
Whether the entrance was from another court of the building, or
from the outside, it is impossible to determine.
Toward the northwest and the southwest the difficulties that
met us were quite the opposite of those with which we had to
contend at the northeast and southeast — namely, the fact of the
rapid rise of the hill on those sides and the immense mass of earth
Fio. 53. — Fragment of ancient statuary found in house of later period.
under which everything was buried. The whole surface of the
hill to the northwest and southwest was covered with a Jewish
settlement, the houses of which were built of mud brick, and in
almost every house we found one or more Jewish incantation
bowls. In one of these houses on the hill to the southwest we
found a curious pottery object, which we supposed to have be-
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452 JOHN P. PETERS.
longed to a Jewish doctor or apothecary, and to have been intended
rather for ornament or advertisement than for use. We con-
cluded that it belonged to an apothecary or doctor, from the
fact that there were in the same place several clay bottles sealed
with bitumen, containing a mixture which we judged to be in-
tended as medicine, although no chemical analysis has yet been
made. Our conclusions may therefore be faulty on this point,
but the discovery of Jewish bowls in the same house seems to
settle the fact that it belonged to the Jewish colony. Kufic coins
found in some of the houses of this settlement indicated that it
was in existence as late as the vn century a. d. This Jewish
town extended over a large part of the mounds to the southwest
of the canal from Camp Hill (marked I on the plan of levels) to
X, and is everywhere identifiable by the incantation bowls found
in the houses, some of which are written in Syriacor even Arabic,
although by far the larger part are in Jewish script. In one
of the houses on I, close to the colonnade, was found a curi-
ous fragment, 21 centimetres in height, of a statue in black
dioritic stone (photograph, Fig. 58). On one face, the obverse,
was a ram in relief, held behind by a hand with very slender long
fingers. The hand was relatively much larger than the ram, the
middle fingers measuring .042 m., while the height of the ram
over its hindquarters is only .11 m. On the edge of the frag-
ment, in front of the ram, the breast and some of the drapery of
a human figure can be seen. This is relatively smaller than the
ram, and much smaller than the hand. On the reverse is the
small of a human back, undraped, and corresponding in size
rather to the hand than to either the breast or the ram. I sup-
pose that this was found or dug up by the occupant of the house,
somewhere, probably on the temple hill, which was at that time
unoccupied or sparsely occupied, and seems to have served to
some extent aa a brick quarry for the later inhabitants of other
parts of the mounds. It is one of the fragmentary evidences of
the existence at Nippur, at some time, of stone statuary resembling
that at Tello. It may be added that both on the temple hill and
also at X, Mr. Haynes has now found objects bearing inscriptions
of patesis of Tello, thus establishing on a still surer foundation the
connection which I had conjectured from the fragments of statu-
ary found at Nippur.
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 453
At the time of the Jewish occupation of the mounds the surface
was already very uneven. The Jewish settlement occupied in
general the higher portions of the surface of the mounds, which
were thus still further increased in height, while the gullies were
left unoccupied. Such partial settlements of the mounds outside
of the temple hill, which is more uniform in its strata, and the
consequent unevenness of stratification, have rendered the task
of determining the dates of buildings and objects found at Nippur
one of great difficulty. In one of the gullies on the northeast side
of X (indicated by the letter E on the plan of levels) was found a
Fig. 59. — Trenches in mound x, looking west, showing rooms of house.
Circa 2600 b. c.
series of rooms of unburned brick belonging to a building de-
stroyed by fire (Fig. 59), in which were stored tablets of a very
ancient period, several of them bearing the seal of Gamil-Sin of
Ur, circa 2600 b. c. At the point marked F on the same mound
was found a room used for the storage of unbaked tablets of the
same period. These had been arranged on wooden shelves run-
ning around the walls, which, when the building was destroyed,
fell to the ground with their precious freight. A brick well at
this point was choked with earth, which we excavated down to
the water level, recovering some hundreds of tablet fragments of
the same period, which had fallen or been thrown in it. At C, at
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454 JOHN P. PETERS.
a somewhat higher level, we found a fine deposit of tablets of
the Cossaean period, circa 1300 b. c. At H Mr. Haynes has
found remains of the Sargon period (3800 b. a), almost at the
surface. In the same part of the mounds, and often at but a
slightly higher level, only on the summits instead of in the val-
leys, are found the houses of the Jewish town. These houses are
in all cases of unburned brick, and resemble, or in fact seem to be
identical, with the houses of ordinary town Arabs of the present
day in Hillah, Shatra, Diwaniyeh and similar towns in that
region. Not only do we find that the houses of the present day
in neighboring towns are identical in structure with those built
by the Jews at Nippur about 700 a. d., but the ordinary struct-
ures of the earlier periods back to the time of Sargon are of the
same type and material ; and it is only in exceptional cases that
the shape of bricks or details of architecture give any clue to
date. A similar homogeneity exists in the pottery and household
utensils found in the houses and graves. Naturally, as a conse-
quence of long experience, we are finding marks of date in objects
which at first seemed undateable, and Mr. Haynes is now able to
fix with considerable certainty the period of some things about
which I could reach no conclusion. Doubtless, in course of time,
as the result of systematic and patient work, we shall be able to
assign periods to much of the pottery, bricks and the like, and
ultimately to determine the period of objects found, even where
they are not accompanied by inscriptions. At present, however,
we are compelled to rely upon inscriptions for chronological
purposes.
I have already stated that the discovery of Kufic coins of the
first Caliphs in some of the Jewish houses on Camp Hill suggested
the date of the vn century b. c. for the Jewish town on the
mounds of Nippur. In another place not far away the houses
with Kufic coins were built over the ruins of those containing
Jewish bowls, showing that the Jewish era also antedated the
Kufic. In the house in which the curious piece of composite
pottery mentioned above was found Jewish bowls and Parthian
coins occurred together. We can thus carry the Jewish occupation
of that part of the mounds about and above the building contain-
ing the court of columns back to the beginning of the Christian
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 455
era or a little earlier, and find that there was a considerable Jew-
ish settlement at Nippur during a period of 600 years or more.
But at the same time that a part of the hill was occupied by a
Jewish town, burials were taking place in other parts, and espe-
cially over and about the court of columns ; so that, as I have
already stated, we at first mistook this portion of the mounds for
the necropolis of Nippur. These graves were so confused in time
that it is impossible to talk of strata. One and the same tomb
contains burials of different periods. Coins and seals found here
show that these burials occurred in the Sassanian, Parthian, and
apparently also in the Persian and Babylonian periods. Out of
this confusion it was impossible to obtain any clue to the date of
the columnar structure, which I supposed for a long time to be a
building of late date — not earlier in any event than the Persian
period, and probably influenced in the use of columns by Greek
art. It was the connection of the court of columns with the huge,
ramifying structure lying under the central mass of the hill which
gave me the means of dating the colonnade, by a cut through the
highest part of the hill — the part which had the most and the
best preserved strata.
As shown by the plan of levels (Plate xxi) and plan of building
(Fiu. 54), a broad trench was carried directly through the highest
part of mound I, which had been occupied by our camp in the
first year.. At the point C, between the 14 and the 16 metre
level, the houses which we found at the surface — the lines of
which were actually visible without excavation — were above the
Jewish settlement ; but at the summit of the mound, at the 24
metre level, this proved not to be the case. We excavated first a
series of rooms, several of which were plastered and whitewashed.
The floors of these rooms were about 3 metres below the surface.
The discovery of incantation bowls, one of them written in Syriac
characters, in several of the rooms of this series, together with
Kufic coins, settled quite satisfactorily the date of this stratum as
about 700 a. n. Below this we found Jewish bowls and Sassan-
ian and Parthian coins. At a depth of 5 or 6 metres below the
surface we came across a second series of buildings, above and in
which were a number of burials in clay slipper-shaped coffins.
These burials had evidently taken place after the houses in the
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456 JOHN P. PETERS.
second stratum had fallen into decay. There was nothing in
these coffins or in the houses beneath them to determine date.
Below this we found no buildings and no proper strata, but
only a few objects of various sorts loose in the earth. At 10
metres below the surface I felt confident that we were well into
the Babylonian period, but we did not obtain any objects by
means of which date could be proved beyond question until we
reached a depth of 11 metres, at which depth we were on the
level of the court of columns. Here we discovered quite close to
the great wall MM, but on the outside of it, in a small tunnel run
out from the wide trench, a curious set of pottery stored in a large
urn (Fig. 60). There were three small boxes, the largest 10 cm*
Fig. 60.— Pottkry op Cossaean period.
square, two of them with covers, and three small vases, all quite
peculiar in pattern, colored green and yellow in stripes. The
largest box was ornamented with knobs. Along with these were
more than a hundred small discs and crescents, mostly in black
and white, pierced for purposes of suspension. This pottery did
not seem to be connected with a burial, nor were there any con-
tents in the boxes or vases excepting the earth which had fallen
into them. There were no traces of house walls at this point.
While I was still uncertain as to the date of this pottery, or in
fact of anything about this perplexing hill, in a small tunnel from
the great trench on the opposite or southeastern side, at the depth
of 1J.20 metres, we discovered 245 baked tablets, practically en-
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 457
tire. These lay together in the earth, and the clay about them
showed marks of burning. There was no trace of a wall imme-
diately about them. Further excavation added about 53 tablets
found in the adjoining earth, together with a very large number
of fragments, all found within a radius of a few feet and appa-
rently loose in the earth. Scarcely had we made this discovery,
however, and secured the tablets, when the trench caved in, and
we were unable to remove the superincumbent earth and reach
our old level again that year.
In the first year of his work Mr. Haynes undertook a further
Fig. 61. — Account tablet of Nazi-marruttash, a Cossaean Kino op
Babylon, 1284-1258 b. c. Actual length about 20 cm.
excavation of this site, and had the good fortune to discover in
the same locality a large number of tablets of the same type. I am
unable to identify the precise spot at which he discovered his tab.
lets. Mine were discovered at the spot marked B, on hill 1, (Plate
xxi) at which point, it will be observed, a tunnel is indicated in the
great trench. On examination these tablets proved to be, with-
out exception, records of the Cossaean dynasty. The large tablet
represented in the photograph (Fig. 61) bears the name of Nazi-
Marruttash, and is a record of temple income, as are all the other
tablets of this find. They are archives of the Cossaean dynasty,
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458 JOHN P. PETERS.
dealing with the receipts of the great temple of Bel. The date
of Nazi-Marruttash is 1284 to 1258 b. c.
It will be observed that these tablets were not actually found
in the large building containing the court of columns, but, as I
think will have been made clear by my account of the excava-
tions, they enable us to date accurately the stratum to which that
building belongs. It was in existence at the time of the suprem-
acy of the Cossaean dynasty, and presumably, inasmuch as we
found that some of the kings of that dynasty, like Kurigalzu II
(1306-1284) and Kadashman-Turgu (1257-1241), son of Nazi-
Marruttash, were great builders — we may not unfairly presume
that this building was erected by the kings of that dynasty some-
where, let us say, between 1450 and 1250» b. c.
The endeavor to secure dates on the other side, that is before
the erection of this building, by excavating beneath it, was not
rewarded with success. The great trench through the centre of
the hill was carried to the depth of 13 metres at the point where
it strikes the great wall MM on the southeastern side of the wall
(Fig. 54). At this depth we found other walls of unbaked brick
belonging to buildings of an earlier era, and followed them for a
little distance with tunnels, but without result. A long trench
was projected across the entire hill to give us a section of the
same, as- will be seen by Mr. Field's plan (Fig. 51). Beneath the
court of columns this latter trench descended (Fig. 53) to
the depth of 13 metres, at which point we were exactly 24 metres
below the 24 metre level, but nothing was discovered which
could throw any light on the question of dates. Here and there
we found pottery and household utensils, but always of the same
common character which might have belonged to any period
from Sargon down to the present timQ. At the depth of 13
metres we came upon a wall of unbaked brick (shown at bottom
of trench in Fig. 53) equally lacking in characteristic features,
and at this point we were obliged to abandon the shaft for fear of
a cave-in.
I have given in some detail the plans of this building, as far as
excavated, and an account of the excavations, because a peculiar
interest attaches to the use of the round column. Columns of a
different form, and very much more elaborate in some particulars,
have be^ found by M, <Je Sarzec at Tello. I had the good for-
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 459
tune to discover, at a mound which will not be found on any map
of the country with which I am familiar — Abu-Adham — a few
hours distance from Tello, on the other side of the Shatt-el-tlai, a
building with brick columns, precisely like those found in the
court of columns at Mppur. Abu-Adham is one of a very re-
markable group of mounds, lying unfortunately in the midst of
sandhills, between Hammam and Umm-el-Ajarib (Mother of Scor-
pions), a little to the northward of the direct line between these
two places.
The most important mounds of this group are those of Yokha,
or more properly Jokha, which evidently represent a large and
important city. The mounds of Yokha are extensive, but low lying,
like those of Tello. Stone fragments are numerous, and one can
pick up on the surface quantities of pieces of vases and other simi-
lar objects of stone of various sorts extremely well wrought. Such
objects, as far as my experience goes, are an evidence of an anti-
quity antedating 2000 b. c, and their appearance on the surface
is an indication that these mounds were, comparatively at least, un-
occupied during the succeeding ages. Bricks found in a structure
at the surface of the mounds were of decidedly archaic appearance,
flat on one side and convex on the other, with thumb grooves in
the convex surface, like those found beneath the ziggurat at Nip-
pur in the pre-Sargonic stratum. Loftus, while exploring in this
neighborhood, found at Yokha a small stone statue of the Tello
school of art, dating from 3000 b. c. ( Travels and Researches in
Chaldaea and Susiana, p. 116, note). The University of Pennsyl-
vania possesses a door-socket from Yokha bearing the inscrip-
tion : " Gamil Sin, the mighty king, king of Ur, king of the
four quarters of the earth, has built for Marduk his favorite
temple." This gives us a date of 2600 b. c, and shows us
that Marduk was the special god of the city ; but it does not give
us the date of the city. Tablets from Yokha suggest the same
general date by their appearance and the character of the script,
but are equally unsatisfactory for the purpose of naming the city.
About a quarter of an hour from Yokha, to the southwest, lies
a small mound called Ferwa, the surface remains on which are
of the same general character as those on Yokha. Beyond this
again are two smaller mounds, belonging apparently to the same
period, on one of which, Abu Adham, I found the building men-
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460
JOHN P. PETERS.
tioned above, containing a court of columns of a still more inter-
esting type architecturally than those found at Nippur (Fig. 62).
There were visible two rooms, the larger 30x18 m., and the
smaller, or inner room, 13x15.5, the walls of which without were
relieved by half columns in brick. In the inner room were 18
round columns of brick, each about a metre in diameter, set upon
square bases, each side of which measured 1.5 m. (I am not sure
that the two center columns were not missing.) These columns
were similar in construction to those at Nippur. From the evi-
*•,
G
j^\
C
c
X
(b
W)
0 0 0 0 0 o
0 0 0 0 0 0
4)
<C7 s
Fig. 62.— Pla.n of brick building with columns, at Abu Adha.m.
dences of the surrounding mounds, I should judge that this build-
ing belonged to the middle of the third millennium b. c.
Abu Adham, as already indicated, lies in the sphere of influ-
ence of Tello. Less than an hour away toward the Shatt-el-Hai,
on the direct road to Tello, lies the burial mound or necropolis of
Umm-el-Ajarib. This latter mound was visited by de Sarzec (it
is called Moulagareb in his report), who found there a head of a
type similar to those found at Tello. My men found at the same
place a small marble statue of Tello type, much defaced. At
Hammam, also, two hours or so from Yokha toward the north-
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 461
east, Loftus found a badly broken and battered statue of Gudea.
I suspect that this had been brought originally from Yokha or
Umm-el-Ajarib, but it is at least evidence of the general period
of the ruins of that section.
It is worthy of notice, moreover, that Yokha, Ferwa and Abu
Adham lie on the course of the ancient Shatt-en-Nil, which emp-
tied into the Euphrates by Warka or Erech, some three or four
hours lower down; and that in the mound called Wuswas, at this
latter city, Loftus found half columns of brick, seven shafts to-
gether, used to relieve a facade. He places the date of the build
ing in which these half columns were found at not later than
1500 b. c. The use of columns and half columns of brick would
seem to have been by no means uncommon in southern Baby-
lonia, wherever, at least, the influences of the artists of Tello was
felt, from the middle of the third millennium or earlier until about
the thirteenth century b. c.
Another building of a quite different character and much later
date was discovered by Mr. Haynes at Nippur last year, on the
mound designated vi on the general plan of Nippur, published in
the January number of the Journal, between the Temple of Bel
and the Shatt-en-Nil, to the southwest of the former. In a letter
dated Sept. 22d, 1894, Mr. Haynes writes as follows : " Wednesday
the various gangs, with the single exception of the small party de-
tailed for special service on the ziggurat, were placed at different
points on Mound vi, with results of moderate interest to the anti-
quarian. About midway between the temple of Bel and the
Shatt-en-Nil, and slightly to the southward of west from the
former, has been excavated a building of doubtful origin, built of
burned bricks and lime mortar, in the style of the ziarets or
holy tombs which abound in many countries of the East and
South, notably in Turkey, Persia and India, and in the countries
of Northern Africa.
" The enclosed sheet (Figs. 63 and 64) shows a plan and section
of this building, which measures thirty-two feet and three inches
in length and breadth, and stands parallel to the great Temple of
Bel. Like the famous temple, its northeastern face varies twelve
degrees from the northwest and southeast line. In each side is an
opening seven feet and ten inches wide. The building was cov-
ered with a dome of bricks in lime mortar, and would appear to
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462
JOHN P. PETERS.
have been conspicuous for its symmetry and proportions. Its
walls to-day stand seven feet and eight inches high and six feet
and nine inches in thickness, being well built and sufficiently
The walls are
strong to resist the lateral thrust of the dome.
I2<
Fig. 63.— Plan of building of burned bricks on mound vi at Nippur.
Scale .01083 m. = 1 m.
built of soft yellow bricks measuring twelve and one-half inches
square, with a varying thickness of two and three-quarter inches
to a maximum of three inches. In color, texture and mould the
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA.
463
quality of these bricks appears to be ideiitical with that of
the soft porous bricks built into the facing of the great cruciform
projections during the last restoration of the temple of Bel.
" In the southeastern opening of the building is an altar marked
A on the " Plan and Section " of the accompanying sheet
(Figs. 63 and 64). The altar consists of three stages, each stage ex-
cept the highest being composed of two layers of bricks measur-
ing six inches. The altar stands upon a raised platform, and its
uppermost stage has evidently lost a course of bricks, making the
original height of the altar two feet, while across its top it meas-
ures three feet. The bricks composing the altar were laid in lime
mortar, and its sides were smoothly plastered with mortar of the
same kind. Upon and around the altar, to a considerable distance
from it, were wood ashes six inches in depth, an accumulation
that could not have been accounted for by an occasional fire.
Within the building, and exactly in front of the altar, is a raised
"mmm
Fig. 64. — Sbotio>* of building of burned brick on mound vi at Nippur,
AT XY.
block of crude bricks, shown at B in both ' Plan and Section ' of
Figs. 63 and 64. The sides of this block were plastered in the
same manner as the sides of the altar itself. It was distant from
the altar about one foot. Possibly the officiating priest may have
stood here while offering the sacrifices. There is a difference of
one foot in the level of the brick pavement shown by the line
X Y. There is no reason apparent to us why the pavement
should have been made in different levels, unless it possibly was
to elevate the altar and priest above the people in the lower part
of the room.
" Looking at the plan of the building, you may judge it to have
been an Arab tomb or ziaret, and therefore dismiss the subject
from further consideration. At one stage in the progress of its
excavation the same suggestion came to us in the field, but as the
work proceeded this hypothesis appeared no longer tenable, and
to-day we feel certain that this building is much older than the
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464 JOHN P. PETERS.
Mohammedan era, though by whom it was built we have no cer-
tain clue. The bricks used in its construction were new bricks ;
at least they had not been previously used in other buildings, and
as stated above, they are identical in dimensions, color and tex-
ture with the soft yellow bricks used in the upper courses of the
skin or facing of the last reconstruction of the temple in the cru-
ciform style, which would at least justify the hypothesis that the
newly-discovered building belongs to the same era as the recon-
struction of the temple. Besides, the orientation of the two
buildings is exactly the same. The altar proves the building to
Fig. 65. — Staged platform in burned brick building, mound vi. Base
4 ft. 10 in. square j height l ft. 3 in.
have been older than the Mohammedan era. There are no in-
scriptions to determine its origin or purpose. We can only guess
at the former and reason about the latter. Possibly the situation
of the altar, in the opening toward the sun at its zenith, may be
significant of its use. Might it not have been an altar and
temple, or more properly a shrine, of the fireworshippera ? The
domed building might naturally have been adopted from Persia ;
and that domes were used in ancient times is clearly shown by a
bas-relief on the monuments at Nineveh. From whatsoever coun-
try this type of building came, it is certain that the Arab tomb
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 465
and ziaret are its lineal descendants, and by no means a creation
of the Saracens.
" Nearly two months ago an Arab of the desert brought to me a
model in limestone of a three-staged altar, which in general plan
bears a striking resemblance to the altar described above. The
enclosed sheet (Figs. 65 and 66) gives a sketch of both these
altars. Fig. 66 is the little altar of massive limestone. Fig. 65
is a sketch of the altar in the building described in the foregoing
pages of this letter. It has lost its upper course of brick. The
altar (Fig. 66), rudely made and somewhat irregular in form, has
a circular depression in its top, thus creating a raised rim around
its edge."
Mr. Haynes is inclined to think, as will be observed, that this
building is of the same date as the cruciform structure built about
the ziggurat of the Temple of Bel at Nippur (cf. January number
Fig. 66. — Staged object of stone. Base 4 in. square; height 2 in.
of the Journal). I have already pointed out the uncertainty of. the
date of the latter, but suggested for it a late Babylonian origin,
which would seem to me not unsuitable for this building also.
It must be said, however, that a later date is also possible.
Both the Parthians and Sassanians played an important role in
this country at a later date, and both of them erected buildings
of some importance. Loftus discovered at Warka very interest-
ing remains of Parthian architecture, characterized especially by
plaster mouldings and decorations. He identified them as Par-
thian and not Sassanian by the coins found with them. I found
several mouldings of the same sort at Nippur, one of them in the
vicinity of the square building described above, I believe, and
ascribed them to the Parthian period on the ground of Loftus'
discoveries. Zibliyeh, three hours to the north of Nippur, I iden-
tified as the ruins of a tower of the same period, largely owing to
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466 JOHN P. PETERS.
the discovery of similar architectural mouldings. As this mound,
which is a very prominent landmark, had been described by
some travelers as the remains of an ancient Babylonian ziggurat,
I conducted soundings there in the spring of 1890. It proved
to be no ziggurat, but a square tower of unbaked brick, within
and beneath which was a vaulted substructure of baked brick.
Pio. 67. — Ruins of tower at Aker Kuf.
Above this latter, and surrounded by massive walls of unbaked
brick, I found the remains of brick walls and plaster mouldings
somewhat like those found by Loftus at Warka. The unbaked
bricks of which the outer walls were composed were of a poor
make, and were laid in reeds, the projecting ends of which, wav-
ing in the wind, may have given the ruin its modern name of
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EXPEDITION TO BABYLONIA. 467
Zibliyeh. Low, long mounds, radiating in every direction, sug-
gested that, like Akerkuf (Fig. 67), near Baghdad, it was a tower
built at a canal centre for the regulation or defence of the canal
system. But while Aker Kuf seems to have been of Cossaean
origin, Zibliyeh belonged to the Parthian or possibly even Sas-
sanian period.
. An exploration of the tower of Hammam, two days' jour-
ney south of Nippur, led me to reach a similar conclusion in
regard to this ruin. Dr. "Ward, in the report of the Wolfe expe-
dition, described it as a ziggurat, concurring in what appears to
have been the opinion of Loftus. The latter, as already stated,
Fig. 68. — Ruins of Hammam from the north. Photograph of Wolfe
expedition.
found on the surface near this ruin a broken and defaced statue
of Gudea, palest of Tello, from which he inferred a high antiquity
for the ruins. These latter he describes as quite extensive. I
found a considerable number of low mounds radiating from a
common centre, in or near which stood a tower of unbaked brick
(Fig. 68) about fifty feet high and seventy-eight feet square,
according to Loftus; nearer forty by seventy according to me.
Sounding the low mounds, I found that they contained no re-
mains, and were very shallow. The tower itself proved to be
similar to that of Zibliyeh, described above. The corners were in
general toward the cardinal points, but so irregularly orientated
that the northern corner pointed 20° east of north. I concluded
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468 JOHN P. PETERS.
that this also was no ziggurat, but a water tower at a canal cen-
tre, perhaps of Parthian origin.
The name Hammara (bath) is presumably late, and like that of
the reedy, basket-like Zibliyeh, may have been given by the
Arabs, owing to the bath-house-like appearance of the place. Or
it may have been a reminiscence of the original object of the
place as a water-tower, supposing that to have been its object.
It is, however, a very common name for ruins of all descriptions
throughout the whole Turkish empire.
John P. Peters.
St Michael's Church,
New York.
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PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL
STUDIES AT ATHENS.
GRAVE-MONUMENTS FROM ATHENS.
I.
In digging for the foundations of the large hou.se which Mr.
C. Merlin, the well-known artist and photographer of Athens, is
building at the corner of Academy and Kephissia Streets, the
workmen came upon considerable remains of an ancient ceme-
tery. At my suggestion Mr. Merlin made over to the American
School the right of publishing these discoveries, and afterwards
generously presented to the School three reliefs and one other
inscribed stone, together with some smaller fragments. The
finds were made in the autumn of 1894. Only a part of them
came under my observation at the time; hence the description of
the graves and their location rests in part upon the accounts of
Mr. Merlin and his workmen.
The description will be made clearer by Fig. 69, which exhibits
an outline of the plan of the house, and its situation with rela-
tion to the adjacent streets. All the graves lay two or three
meters below the present level of Academy Street, and this is
somewhat lower than Kephissia Street. Within the triangle ABC
were several graves with sides and tops of rough-dressed marble
slabs. Near A were two of this type, side by side, one of which
I saw opened. This contained skulls and other bones, more or
less broken, which indicated at least five bodies, one of them that
of an infant. With these bones was a jar, of poor and underr-
ated pottery, about 15 cm. high and of like diameter, containing
only earth and some fragments of plain glass bottles of common
Roman shape. The eastern end of this tomb was walled up with
469
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470
T. D. QOODELL.
brick, and a single slab of marble formed the partition between it
and the companion tomb. A little west of A was found a sarco-
phagus of Pentelic marble. The only decoration on the body of
the sarcophagus was a simple moulding on the front and ends ;
the lid was roof-shaped, the gable as shown in Fig. 70, the roof
proper covered with the scale-like tile pattern illustrated in 'E<£.
'Apx-, 1890, Utv. 9, a sarcophagus [from Patras, No. 1186 in
V
"t*
□*
Kephissia Street.
Fig. 69. — Plan of Mr. Merlin's House.
the National Museum. (It is worth noting that this No. 1186
has on the back essentially the same design as the gable here
illustrated ; and that the same roof-pattern appears on two or three
of the sarcophagi from Sidon, now in the New Museum in Con-
stantinople, as well as on several other sarcophagi in the National
Museum in Athens.) The top had been broken open, but the
despoilers had overlooked a plain gold ring which was still with-
in the sarcophagus. Near C was a large cippus of Hymettus
marble, inclined perhaps 40 degrees from the vertical, in such
a way that the top, with the inscription, had to be broken to
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 471
make room for the wall — unless, indeed, one was willing to spend
considerable labor to dig it out and remove it entire. When I
saw it first the fragments were lying near, and the inscription is
given below as No. 1. Between A and C was a large Roman
stele, found lying on one side ; from its weight there is no likeli-
hood that it had been moved far. This is described more fully
by Mr. Heermance in the following article. Within the space
ADIIK the trenches for the side walls and for the numerous
cross walls of the house revealed twenty or thirty graves of poor
construction, enclosed in tiles, nearly all of the shape of a contin-
uous pointed vault springing from a horizontal base. In two or
Fig. 70. — Gable of Sarcophagus.
three the enclosing tiles made a coffin of cylindrical form. These
poorer graves contained considerable remains of bones but no
decorated pottery, and nothing to indicate a period earlier than
late Roman. A few plain glass bottles of common Roman form,
with many fragments of such bottles, and a few plain jars were
all. It should be noted that nearly all the graves found were
oriented in the general direction AB, that is, about east and west.
North of the Hue DH none were found.
E, D and I are wells, apparently of Roman date, still contain-
ing an abundance of water. (It may be mentioned that in dig-
ging for the foundations of two other houses of Mr. Merlin,
on the corner of Kcphissia and Sekeri Streets, and on the corner
of Sekeri and Kanari Streets, ancient wells were likewise found,
which still furnish water.) These three wells were connected
with each other, and also with two small reservoirs, F and G, by
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472 T. D. GOODELL.
aqueducts, as indicated in Fig. 69 by dotted lines. From E an
aqueduct was followed in a westerly direction to the street line.
In the walls of F and G were found reliefs and inscriptions de-
scribed below under Nos. 2, 3 and 4, together with fragments of
one or more richly carved sarcophagi of Pentelic marble. In the
well D was a terra-cotta lamp of graceful form and decoration,
with four or five small drinking-cups of reddish clay, undecorated
and unvarnished, of the general shape 222 in the Berlin vase
catalogue.
The location of these finds has been given in detail because of
their bearing upon a question of Athenian topography. It is
clear we have here the northern limit, at this point, of the ceme-
tery along the northern side of an important road leading from
one of the eastern gates of the city. There can be no doubt that
the richer tombs were nearest to this road, the poorer ones farther
away. Besides, if the road ran immediately to the north of the
line DH, some trace of it would have been brought to light, and
another line of tombs would certainly have been revealed on the
other side of the street; for the apse-like projection on the north-
ern side of the house extends at least 12 m. beyond the limit of
the graves found. The road must therefore have run to the
south of B, and presumably several meters to the south, to allow
for the probable width of the fringe of richer tombs. The line
A-K is 14 m., the point B 9.25 m. from the present line of
Kephissia Street. The ancient road is thus located, at this point,
very near the line of the modern road. And if one observes the
nature of the ground in this region, as shown by the Niveaidinien
on Kaupert's map, it will be seen that this is about the most natu-
ral line of communication with the country east and northeast of
Athens, if one considers grade as well as direction. The sketch-
map (Fig. 71) will serve to indicate Curtius' conjectural location of
roads and wall in this vicinity and the amount of correction
which these finds enable us to make. The lot on which the
graves were found is shaded, as are two other sites where simi-
lar remains, probably belonging to the same cemetery, had pre-
viously been excavated. That in Muses Street is a house which
belonged to Dr. Schliemann, who reported on the discoveries in
the Athenian Mittheilungen) xin (1888), pp. 207 ffi; the topographical
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS.
473
conclusions were drawn by Doerpfeld in the same journal and
volume, pp. 231 ff., and the probable course of the city wall in Fig.
71 is taken from the latter article. The site at the corner of Con-
stitution Square and University Street is that of the Hotel Grande
Bretagne, beneath which and to the north of which were found
graves of Hellenic dates.1 In the upper part of Stadion Street,
also, excavations for a sewer brought to light numerous tombs of
3 .it*' + J* ' I
*6i.m.i&*'i~
?- * W\
•^■■» Probable course of City wall.
- ^ -- - Cunius' location of Hadrian's wall.
"_""_" CurtiuV location of ancient roads.
Fig. 71.— Map Showing Sitb of the Gravks.
the fifth and fourth centuries b. c.,2 which apparently formed part
of the same cemetery ; although it is true that these last may be-
long rather to a street skirting the wall at this point. Only in
the case of Mr. Merlin's excavations have we the data for deter-
mining certainly on which side of the graves the ancient road
ran ; but the probability seems to be that the gate in the Themis-
toclean wall lay a little south of the 6809 Moi/ow, and that the
road traversed the Constitution Square and passed between Mr.
1 C. Wachsmuth, Stadt Athen, 1, p. 338.
'AfXr/Apx-i 1889, p. 125,
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474
T. D. GOODELL.
Merlin's new house and the Royal Garden opposite. The name
of the gate is perhaps not yet determined beyond question ; but
Doerpfeld's identification of it with the gate of Diochares,3 in con-
nection with his location of the Eridanus and Lyceum, has more
in its favor than the older identification with the Diomeian gate.
As regards the wall of Hadrian, I can add nothing certain, except
that the gate cannot have stood where Curtius' conjecture placed
it. This follows naturally from what is said above about the
road. The inscriptions and reliefs discovered cannot be dated
precisely, and may have been all earlier than Hadrian's time, so
that it is possible that his wall was built between B and the pres-
ent street; a deep trench from B to the street would settle the
question.
The following monuments call for fuller notice.
1. Large cippus of bluish marble found at C on Fig. 69, inclined
some 40 degrees from the vertical, the base never fully excavated.
The top, with the inscription, was broken when I saw it, but the
fragments were near by and all the letters clearly legible, as
follows :
KAAYAIOS KXavSio?
PHSIMAXOS ,PV<r(fiaxo<;
EIOIOY i£Otov
The name 'Prjo-ifiaxos is unknown and strange; one is tempted
to read 'P^^^ax09' although 3 was perfectly clear.
2. Lower part of a stele of Pentelic marble, of the form shown
in Fig. 72, found in the wall
of one of the reservoirs, now in
the Library of the American
School at Athens. The mould-
ing is broken oft' on the back,
right side, and most of the
front, to make it more service-
able as building material; how
much is wanting at the top is
uncertain. The height pre-
served is 14.5 cm. ; the width of the shaft, without the moulding at
1i?v
Fio. 72. — Fragment of Inscribed
Stele.
8 Per Eridanos, Ath. Mitth., %\\i (1888), pp. 211 ff.
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 475
the base, 21.5 cm.; the depth of the shaft 17 cm. The inscription,
in good letters about 2 cm. high, is of the latter part of the
fourth century. It reads :
04>QN [St/wit] o<£<Jh>
STPATQNOS ZTpdrcovo*;
EPXIEY^ 'Epxievs
The lower part of a perpendicular hasla over the first T of the
second line, with a slight trace of the lower end ot a similar hasta
over the P, points to [3TPAT]04>QN as the probable reading of
the first line. I have found no reference to a IrpaTofy&v of the
deme of Erchia. The shape of the monument is also new to me ;
and of the archaeologists who have seen it, no one has been able
to point out an analogy to it. The bottom has its ancient sur-
face, is nearly as smooth as the sides, and contains no trace of
having been fastened upon a base. It must, therefore, have
simply stood upon another stone with a fairly smooth surface —
perhaps on a slab covering the grave and slightly above the level
of the ground — and can hardly have been more than 40 or 50 cm.
high. Possibly a relief or a painting adorned the front above the
inscription. That it was a grave-monument rather than the base
of a dedicatory offering is rendered probable by the circumstan-
ces of its discovery, in the neighborhood of a cemetery and among
grave-monuments.
3. Stele of Pentelic marble with relief (Fig. 73), found built into
the wall of the same reservoir with the preceding, and now in the
Library of the American School. Height, 64 cm.; breadth,
25 cm.; thickness, 10 cm. The field of the relief is 38 cm. by 17
cm., and about 2 cm. deep; the face and right hand of the figure
project 2 or 3 mm. beyond the plane of the enclosing frame. The
lower left-hand portion of the stele has been in some way cut
smoothly away, so that the lower left-hand corner retires 1 cm.
from the general plane. This was no doubt hidden in a socket or
in the ground. The relief represents a woman in middle life,
standing en face, the weight upon the left leg, clad in simple
chiton and himation, both arms and the left hand wrapped in the
himation, the right hand raised and laid against the left breast.
The nose has suffered, and indeed the entire surface of the relief,
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476 T. D. OOODELL.
which is the work of an ordinary artisan. The inscription on the
architrave above the figure, in letters 1 cm. high in the upper
line, distinctly less in the crowded lower line, still retaining traces
of red, reads :
Fio. 73. — Stele of Statia.
CTATIAN0AAAOYCAN
<MAANAPIACTPY4>WNANe
CTHCGN
^TarCav OdWovaav | <f>i\ap8p(a<; Tpv<fmv ave | avqaev.
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 477
The letters in general are rather broad, particularly H. Such
a genitive of cause as <f>i\av8pia<;, without preposition, is unusual
with a verb like aviaTqatv. OdWovaav seems to mean in the bloom
of life.
Fig. 74.— Stele of a Boy.
4. Stele of Pentelie marble with relief (Fig. 74), found in the
wall of the same reservoir with the preceding, in three pieces,
with another crack near the bottom, reaching not quite across.
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478 T. D. QOODELL.
The total height is 64 em.; breadth, 37-39 em.; thickness, 7-9
cm.; the field of the relief is 41 cm. by 27 cm., concave, varying
in depth from 1 cm. at the edge to 2.5 cm. The relief is of very
poor work, and represents a naked boy standing en face, the left
hand at the side, holding a ball, the right hand holding a bird
against the breast. The inscription consists of four hexameters,
irregularly cut, in letters ranging from 0.5 to 1 cm. high; the
first three verses above the relief, the fourth verse broken into
five lines and placed at the left of the child's head. Endeavoring
to get the thirty-eight letters of line two and the forty-one letters
of line three into the same space as the thirty-two letters of line
one, the stone-cutter so far miscalculated as exactly to reverse
the relation of lengths ; line three comes out shortest as regards
space, and line two the next shortest. The letters are of about
the same style as in the preceding, and read :
TICTTGYCACAIAHTONHTTIONHPTTACACHMUJN
TONrAYKePONTGCOAlUNAKATHrAreCOYKeAeHCAC
TOBPe4>OCeEMHNUUNTOKAAONBPe4>OCUJCTTIKPONAArOC
AGIAAIOIC
roNeecci
TTeTTPWM
GNHGZe
TGAGCCAC
T( airevaa^ 'A$?/, rbv ryiriov fjpTraaas rjfi&v
top y\v/cep6v re 2o'\a>i>a ; /caTqyayes ov/c ekerftra^
to )9/D^>09 $% fiTjv&p, to icaXov fip4<\>o<;. a5? irucpov a\yo$
SetXahis yoveeaai, Tlerrpcofievrj^ i^erdXeaaa^.
There is a metrical irregularity in the first line, where t6v has
the place of a long syllable, and ryinov is an unusual epithet for a
six months' babe. But among the metrical inscriptions discussed
by Allen are4 three hexameters with a short syllable for a long
one in the same place in the line, one being from Athens of the
fourth century b. c, one from Thessaly, and one from Meta-
pontum ; and ^7rto? in the sense of gentle is not so rare as to be
impossible here. The simple pathos of the lines gives them a
literary value that is unusual in grave inscriptions.
Thomas Dwight Goodell.
Athens, April, 1895.
* Papers of the American School, vol. iv, p. 78.
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 479
Note. — In the first line of No. 4 ray colleague, Professor Sey-
mour, would read tov [yYiTnov, assuming a stone-cutter's error.
This reading restores the meter and is probably right, though
comparatively frigid in sentiment. Professor Allen suggests
making T€ connect fjprraaa^ and fcaTtjyayes, and removing the
mark of interrogation to line 3, as follows: —
T/ (TTrevcra?, 'A/S17, tov [v]ipnov spiraea? rjfiwv,
tov y\v/cep6v t€ *L6\xova /caTijyaye; ov/c iXeijaas,
TO /3p€<f)0$ € f flT)V&V, TO KOkOV /3p€(f)OS \ (09 TTlfCpOV a\.yO$
SeikatoL? yovieaat,) TleirptofievTjy ij-ereKeaa'as.
T. D. G.
Yale University, December, 1895.
II.
The stele here published (Fig. 75) was found in November, 1894,
in digging the cellar of a house on the northeast corner of Kephis-
sia and Academy Streets, opposite the entrance to the Palace
Garden. It was presented to the American School of Classical
Studies by the owner of the property, Mr. C. Merlin, and in Jan-
uary, 1895, was placed in the School grounds, where it now
stands. In the same excavations sarcophagi and other stela i were
turned up, and taken in connection with previous finds nearer the
Syntagma, show that these graves lined one of the roads leading
from Athens into the outlying country. Dr. Doerpfeld1 has
shown good reasons for believing that the gate by which this
road left the city was that of Diochares, though the traditional
view (which is maintained by other recent topographers like Cur-
tius,2 Lolling,3 Milchhoefer,4 and Wachsmuth*) puts the Diomeian
Gate in this vicinity.
The stele is made of white Pentelic marble, with some flaws in
it, and measures 1.98 m. in length, .82 m. in breadth. Both the
upper and lower left hand corners are broken and missing, as are
also the nose of the figure, the tip of the left thumb, and various
lAth. Mitth., xin (1888), 219; ib., 232.
* Stadtgeschichte von Athen, pp. 107, 182; (und Kaupert) Karten von Attika,
Bl. la.
8 In I wan MCllbr's Handbuch, in, 304.
* In Baumeister's Denkmdler, p. 149.
5 Stadt Athtn im Altcrthum, I, 845.
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480 T. W. HEERMANCE.
chips from the drapery. It was found some 2.5 m. below the
surface of the ground, lying on its side, which accounts for the
corrosion of the surface of the marble on the right as one faces
the relief.
Fio. 75. — Stele of a Damascene.
Between two paraMades, surmounted by an inscribed archi-
trave, is the figure of a middle-aged man, 1.62 m. in height,
standing with his weight resting on the right foot, which is
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 481
slightly advanced. He wears a mantle (IfjuiTiov), but its draping
is not in the usual fashion found on grave reliefs. Most often
the right arm crosses the breast and is wrapped to the wrist in a
fold which then passes over the left shoulder. Here the hand as
well as the arm is covered, and the fold pulled much further
down, so that the left hand, draped as far as the wrist, can clasp
the right as the two meet easily in front. A considerable portion
of the mantle is rolled up and passed about the neck from right
to left, showing the gii-coi' beneath. It is the same side of the
garment which covers both arms and falls in front with a tassel
on the corner. In length the mantle falls well below the knees
and binds the figure quite closely, so that the line of the upper
and lower right leg is clearly visible through the cloth. On his
feet are heavy sandals, with the various straps carefully worked.
A seal-ring decorates the third finger (the trapd^eaos:) of his un-
covered hand. This is the usual place for a ring, as Plutarch6
and Gellius7 inform us.
The effect of the head, large in its upper part, narrow at the
chin, is much changed by the loss of the nose. We should con-
clude, however, from the type of face, with its high cheekbones,
even had we no inscription to settle the matter, that the man
whose portrait this is was no pure Greek, but a foreigner — a bar-
barian. We note, further, the high position of the ears, the small
mouth with thin, tightly-cornpressed lips. The line of the mouth
is quite straight, yet not so much so as to give an expression of
weakness and indecision. What we have here is rather repose.
The smooth-shaven face is commanded by a high and prominent
forehead with sharp horizontal division. Above the temples the
forehead is particularly high. The hair is treated in a very
peculiar manner, which must have depended almost en-
tirely on color for its effect. All traces of paint have disappeared
from the hair and everywhere else; but if we can picture to our-
selves a mass of dark on the upper part of the head, its apparent
abnormal size in part disappears. The space allotted to the hair
is indicated by a roughened surface raised from .001 m. to .002 m.
above the adjacent flesh portion. For a similar treatment the
• Quaest. Conviv., iv, 8.
tNocL Att., x, 10.
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482 T. W. HEERMANCE.
closest analogy I have found is a Roman head in the National
Museum (Kabbadias, 345), in which case, however, the individual
locks on the forehead are worked separately in the usual manner.
In working the folds of the mantle more pains are taken than
anywhere else, even those parts not intended to be seen being
carefully cut and smoothed. But the impression given by the
work, as a whole, is that it is done by rote, from school-training,
and not from carefiil observation of a model. There is lacking
the delicacy, the illusion of really fine work. We never forget
that the material is marble ; it is a solid, in spite of the attempt
to render the forms of the body beneath the soft outer garment.
Surface finish is aimed at in the hem of the xltwv about the neck
and on the front of the Ifidnov, the latter being further deco-
rated by a tassel at the corner, which serves also as a weight for
that loose portion of the garment. The details of the sandal
straps show similar care.
On the other hand, the back of the head is scarcely rounded,
but runs from its highest part nearly horizontally into the ground
of the relief, instead of being cut more or less free. The right
ear is higher than the left, the left eye higher than the right —
things hardly done purposely. As compared with the chest, the
head projects much too far — it is the point of the highest relief;
the distance of the eyebrows from the background is .205 m.,
that of the chest but .118 m. (The former extends .105 m. be-
yond the architrave). The result is that the chest appears very
imperfectly developed.
Turning to the architectural framing, we note that the antae-
capitals are made of more elaborate moulding-forms than those
of the fourth-century reliefs, and are not cut with the mathemati-
cal precision desirable. The outer side of the antae is left quite
rough, particularly at the base, even above the level where it
would be covered when set up. The back of the stele is scarcely
worked — not even rough-finished — so that its thickness varies
considerably.
It is evident from the appearance of the stele, as compared with
others, as well as from the presence of a square iron dowel broken
oft* flush with the surface in the centre of the top, that something
made of a separate piece of marble was once attached there which
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PAPERS OF THE SCHOOL AT ATHENS. 483
has now disappeared. In keeping with the architectural features
of parastadcs and epistyle, we may supply a cornice with a row
of antefixes, or, as was more common, a gable — probably rather
steep in angle, as the stele is narrow — with three akroteria; three
rather than two, as was frequent at this period, for the stele is
larger than most, and seems to me to show reminiscences of
earlier styles. When such a cornice or gable was made separate
from the main part of the stele, a dowel on each side is more
common and reasonable. There are, however, other instances
than this where but a single one is employed, and the fact that
the dowel is square lessens the danger of the gable turning on it
as a center. Possibly, though not probably, a small, deep hole,
longer than wide, which is visible back of the dowel, received a
pin to give additional security from turning.
In the ground of the relief, on each side of the head and a little
below ite top, are two irons .02 m. in diameter, broken flush with
the surface. Similar irons, sometimes as many as six or more,
are often found in stones of the later period, and are to be taken
as serving — before they were broken off — as pegs on which
wreaths and the like were hung. Tho^e on this stele are much
heavier than the average.
On most stelfti the epistyle is single; here it is double, the
lower half .087 m. wide, the upper .08 m., and projecting .003 m.
beyond the lower half. This bv>ars the inscription, while the
upper part may have been decorated with painted triglyphs and
metopes, such as are occasionally found in plastic form on other
stones of the Roman period.
The inscription, in letters .042 m. high, runs the whole length
of the architrave, and is sadly crowded in its two final letters.
The last word, the adjective Aa/LAaovej/i/o?, is complete. Of the two
names preceding, the first is gone entirely, the second has lost its
beginning, but the letters ]ev*ot/ are preserved, and before the
e the stone is so broken that the upper part of a letter having a
leg sloping from left to right is certain. The possible letters?
then, are a, 8, \. a is scarcely to be thought of, as the combina-
tion with the diphthong following is unusual. Of names whose
genitive would end in -Ssv/cov, Ho\v$€VKr}$, the only one I have
found, is to be excluded, as being so long as to leave not enough room
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484 T. W. HEERMANCE.
for another name preceding it. Acvtcos is a possibility ; the chief
objection to it being the infrequency of its occurrence. SAet/Ko?
is a frequent name and one not unfitting for the father of a Dam-
ascene. If this is adopted, we have still room before it for a
name of five letters ; but what this was, it is idle to speculate.
Epigraphical evidence for natives of Damascus in Athens is scanty,
the only other grave-inscription which I have found being
KXeoiraTpa Aio<f>dvrov Aaixaatcqvrj (CIA. ill2, 2406 ; Koumanoudes,
1639).
The date of our stele is a matter of some interest from its topo-
graphical bearing. Three possibilities are open in this connec-
tion :
(1) It is before the time of Hadrian, and included later by the
city wall built by him on the east side of Athens, making Novae
Athenae.
(2) It is before the time of Hadrian, but was excluded later by
the new city wall.
(3) It is later than Hadrian, and therefore outside the new
wall.
Unfortunately the style of the letters of the inscription cannot
be ascribed with certainty to one or the other period, though the
probabilities seem in favor of its being later than Hadrian and
accordingly outside his wall.
At this period Athens was still the resort of men from all over
the civilized world, drawn thither to enjoy the intellectual oppor-
tunities which she offered. Perhaps our unknown Damascene
was among such. His expression of face is intellectual — let us
call him a philosopher. His monument, by its size, shows him a
person of s«>me wealth, and in its simplicity has a suggestion of
fourth-century work ; and that, too, at a period when the public
taste tended to prefer the florid and over-elaborate.
T. W. Heermancb.
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JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. VOL. X. PLATE XXII.
A KYLIX, BY THE ARTIST PSIAX.
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A KYLIX BY THE ARTIST PSIAX.
[Plate XXIL]
While working this spring in the Munich vase collection, on
the vases which belong to the cycle of Epiktetos, I was fortu-
nate enough to discover a kylix, which, on being cleaned, proved
to be by the hand of Psiax. It is principally interesting in being
the third vase, and the only kylix so far known by this master.
The two other vases, both alabastra, are in the museums of Karls-
ruhe1 and Odessa.2 The plate given by Creuzer is thoroughly
unsatisfactory, and I am enabled through the kindness of Dr. E.
Wagner, director of the Karlsruhe collection, to present two
photographs of that vase, which are far more serviceable for the
purpose of comparison (Figs. 76 and 77.)
The kylix3 under discussion belongs to the cycle of Epiktetos,
with a black-figured central picture on the inside and red-figured
outside (Plate xxn). The foot has the form common to the
early part of the cycle — broad, heavy and somewhat clumsy. The
outside design has on one side the figure of a warrior between
two eyes, and on the other a nose and two eyes. The kylix varies
from the common type of kylixes with eyes, which either has
a figure between the eyes on each side or else a nose. This com-
bination of eyes and nose on one side, and a figure between eyes
1 Winnifeld, Catalogue, No. 242. FrOhner, No. 120. Creuzer, Ein alia-
theni8ches Gefass (Archaeologiey in, Taf. I). Panofka, Vasenbilder, Taf. in, 9 and
10. Brunn, Oeschichte der grieekUchen Kunstler, n, p. 700. Klein, Die griech-
ische Vasen mit Meistersignaturen, p. 134.
2Alabastron by^Psiax and Hilinos, by Ernst von Stern ; pub. by the University
of Odessa, 1894. A synopsis, translated from the Russian, may be found in the
Archaeologi8che Anzeiger^ 1894, p. 180, with plate.
* Ht. 0.117 m, diam. 0.817 m. From the Candelori collection. The place
where it was found is unknown. Jahn, Vasens. zu Munchen, No. 1280.
485
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486 JOSEPH CLARK H0PP1N.
on the other, is extremely rare.4 Between the eyes and the
handles arc palmettes, two on each side. The kylix has been
Figs. 76 and 77.— Alabastron at Karlsruhe.
4 1 have only been able to find two other cases : (1) Collection of Altenburg, n, 6 ;
inside black-figured Poseidon. Outside, A, eyes and nose. B, red-figured youth
stretching his Hrm forward. (2) British Museum, E. 5. Inside, Red-figured stoop-
ing youth with halteres. Outside, A, Eyes and nose. B, Ephebos stooping to right.
The nose in this case has been labelled "a post." Mr. Cecil Smith does not con-
sider the object on our kylix a nose at all. I am aware that this fact is open to dis.
cussion, but in the absence of more definite evidence, prefer to remain by the com-
mon view.
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A KYLIX BY THE ARTIST PSIAX. 487
broken into several pieces and mended again, with a few missing
pieces restored.5
The central black-figured picture is that of a Seilenos6 running
rapidly to the right, while looking behind him (Fig. 78). In both
hands he carries a wine-skin. He has a long, flowing horse's tail,
horse's ears, and around his head a fillet bordered by little dots,
evidently intended for an ivy wreath. Purple paint is used for
the fillet, wine-skin, tail and mustache. The outlines (except that
of the hair), as well ii*t the various details, eyes, ears, hair, chest
Fig. 78. — Ski linos. Cknthal Picture of Kylix by Psiax.
and toes, are incised. The eyes are the common type of the
cycle, seen from the front, and the pupil denoted by a disk.
The red-figured figure on the outside of the kylix is that of a
warrior stooping to right, and nude save for a helmet and
greaves (Fig. 79). He holds a shield (device three balls).7 The
6 Entire head of outside figure and the palmette to the left.
• For the head of the Seilenos see Gerhard, AuserUsene Vasenbilder, 41, 52 and
66. Also Bulle, Die Silene in der archaeologischen Kunst der Qriechen. Inaugu-
ral Dissertation, Munchen, 1893.
7 The device was evidently a circle of balls, but owing to the foreshortening of
the shield only three could be indicated.
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488
JOSEPH CLARK HOPPJN.
figure is the natural color of the clay, and is drawn in
broad, careful lines. Purple paint is
employed for the crest of the helmet
and the device of the shield. The
four eves have purple pupils with
enclosing circles of white.
The inscription (Fig. 80) iir purple
paint (now faded) is placed imme-
diately above the nose. In spite
of a thorough cleaning no further
trace of the signature was dis-
covered. We might have ex-
pected the rest above the war-
rior, but the restored piece there
containing the warrior's head lies
too far from the centre to have contained it. Suffice it to say,
that the rest of the signature (if it ever existed) is ,now lost.
Fio. 79. — Figure of Warrior,
FROM KYLIX BY PSIAX.
Fio. 80. — Signature of the Artist Psiax.
That any vase-painter should sign his work without the verb is
a thing unknown in Greek keranvic art.8 From the other two
vases we find Psiax working in company with the potter Hilinus,
but in this case we are under no necessity of looking for the
latter's name, for we only know him from the two alabastra,
and our vase is a kylix. Psiax's signature resembles very
closely that on the other two vases, save in the employment of
the three-barred sigma;9 and being painted, not incised, as in the
8 Several of the vases attributed to Euthymides (Klein, op. cit.y p. 195, Nos. 6
and 6) might be cited here as proof to the contrary, as these vases bear the name of
Euthymides without the verb, but it has yet to be established beyond question that
they really belong to that artist
9 The three-barred sigma occurs once in the name of Psiax on the Karlsruhe vase,
and not at all on the Odessa vase. It is incised in the former, but whether the same
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A KYL1X BY THE ARTIST PSIAX. 489
two alabastra; nor do we find eypayfre or eypafa: and, as in this
case PBiax is working alone, it is impossible to supply the missiag
verb. Its absence, however, need not trouble us much.
Von Stern (op. cit.) assigns to Psiax a date immediately prior to
that of Euphronios, but this statement, though correct, needs
some qualification. Had we only the two alabastra to judge
from, which show a skill and freedom of drawing in advance of
Pamphaios and equal in many respects to that of Epiktetos him-
self, we should l>e justified in regarding him as very nearly con-
temporaneous with the early period of Euphronios' work. But
the discovery of this kylix makes it possible for us to date Psiax
more exactly and to assign him a position in the early part of
Epiktetos' cycle. Tn the first place, the form10 of the kylix is the
heavy and somewhat clumsy form used by all the artists of the
later black-figured period and the early part of the Epiktetan
cycle. The presence also of a black-figured central picture, with
red-figured outside and eyes, is especially characteristic of this
period. The palmettes11 are of the early form, being a slight
development of that used by Hermogenes, Tleson and their
school, having the leaves still close together. The space under
the handle is still left vacant and the palmettes turn away from
it. Later the leaves became separated, and as the empty space
under the handle was regarded as an eyesore, the stems of the
palmettes branched downwards to meet in a design immediately
below the handle. But as the love for filling the outside with
figures increased, the palmette wras abandoned entirely. The
similarity of £Re palmettes on our vase and those on the alabastra
may be noticed; the buds, however, on the Odessa vase are lack-
ing here.
A comparison of the kylix in the Louvre by Nikosthenes
is true of the latter I cannot say. Such early instances of the three-barred su/ma in
Attic inscriptions are remarkable. I know of no case which is as early as this ; and,
were it not for the style, I should be inclined to assign the vases to a later date.
[See, however, the inscription cited by Kirchhoff, Studien4, p. 94, on a Hydria
from Phaleron and the artist inscription from the Akropolis, 'Jfy. *Apx- 1886
p. 81, No. 5. Cf. also Kretbchmbr, Or. Vaseninschriften, p. 101. — Ed.]
10 The foot is broad and hollow. The thin foot is only used during the later part
of the cycle.
11 Winter, Jahrbuch d. k. d. archaeologischen Instituts, 1892, p. 106, fig. 2.
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490 JOSEPH CLARK HOPP1N.
(Klein, op. cit, p. 70, No. 73), and this one shows us the intimate
connection between the two artists during Nikosthenes' latest
period. To assign an approximate date to the activity of Psiax,
since we know his proper place in the cycle, is not difficult.
Hartwig12 has assigned the beginning of Euphronios' activity
to] the beginning of the fifth century, and Furtwaengler" to
the last decade of the previous century. Considering the rela-
tion of the Epiktetan cycle to Euphronios, as well as Psiax's posi-
tion in the cycle and his relation to Nikosthenes, we shall not err
greatly if we say that he was in full activity during the last two
decades of the sixth century. Greater accuracy is, of course,
impossible, for we cannot tell how long a period his activity
covers. The two alabastra are of a slightly later date than the
kylix, but how much later I do not feel able to state.
To establish a "style" for Psiax, in view of the fact that we
have only six figures by him, three of which are either incomplete
or restored, would be rather too daring. But though I do not
consider the ground safe enough to warrant our attributing other
similar vases to this master, still we may gather some interesting
facts from his work. It must be said for Psiax that, though he
is extremely conventional, he is not unoriginal, for on his three
vases we find two motives, which, so far as I know, do not occur
in Greek keramic art before this time — namely, the athlete pour-
ing oil into his hand, on the Karlsruhe vase, and the Amazon
with her bow hung over her elbow, on the Odessa alabastron.
The former is by no means a common scene in vase-painting.M
It occurs on two vases in Berlin.1* Both these are of a later date,
the krater being in the style of Euthymides and the kylix by Duris.
I know of no instance on a black-figured vase. The type of the
Amazon in Scythian garbw is common enough, and the arrow
M Die griechischen Meiaterachalen^ p. 1 ff.
"Berl. Phil. Woch.y 1894, p. 106 n, 141 n.
"Bloch, Roem. Mitth., 1892, p. 88.
15 Krater, No. 2180 (Furtwamgler). Pub. in Arehaeologische Zcitung, 1879, Taf.
4. Kylix, No. 2814. Pub. in Gerhard, TrinkschaUn und Gefasse, Taf. 18.
>• Loewy, Jahrb.t 1888, p. 189, Taf. iv. Cf. Andokides kylix in Palermo, Jahrb.,
1889, Taf. 4. Gerhard, A. V, 197, 211 and 221.
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A KYLIX BY THE ARTIST P8IAX. 491
testing motive also occurs,17 but I have only been able to find
one instance of carrying the bow over the elbow. It is a kylix
by Kachrylion in the Louvre,18 which, however, is later in style.
Von Stern, however, is right in assuming that the warrior raises
his helmet. A similar instance occurs on an amphora19 in the
British Museum, in the style of Euthymides. The warrior, how-
ever, does not necessarily raise his helmet to sec the Amazon
better.
The maenad on the Karlsruhe alabastron is a charming little
figure but save for a curious fashion of treating the hair, in broad
wavy lines (unlike anything of this period), there is little about
her to attract our attention. Carrying the krotala20 is a favorite
motive for maenads. Psiax provided her with these as well as
the nebris. It is a pity that most of the head is lost, for the figure
is very cleverly done.
Turning to our kylix, the warrior on the outside is worth notic-
ing, principally on account of his helmet. The scheme of a
stooping warrior is a very common21 one on many vases. The
dotted lines on our plate show the restoration, which, as it now
stands, is certainly wrong, for no helmet, such as the warrior
wears, ever appears on any vase. Having carefully examined the
size of the head, I feel quite sure that the helmet was of the Kor-
inthian type, and drawn down so as to cover the whole face.
Apart from the fact that the warrior on the Odessa vase wears a
Korinthian helmet, which is the usual type at this time, we can
find the closed helmet on many vases.22 The helmet, as restored,
"Munich, 1229. Von Stern, I think has interpreted the figure wrongly. u Die
Aroazone scheint im Begriff, noch im Fliehen nick warts gewendet, auf den verfol-
genden Gegner einen Schuss abzugeben." Aside from the question whether any con-
nection exists between the warrior and the Amazon, which is extremely doubtful,
the latter is clearly testing her arrow, not shooting.
18Hartwio, Met8ter8chalen, Taf. n, 2.
» E, 255.
* Roschkr's Lexihon, 2258 f. ; ef. Gkrhard, A. V. 172, 173 ; Arch. Zeit, 1888-
Taf. 15 ; Afon. deW Inst, XI, Taf. 50.
11 Of. (1) kylix by Exekias, Munich, 888. Pub. in Wiener Vorlegeblatter , 1888-89,
vii, 1, and Gerhard, A.V. 49. (2) Sammluno Sabouroff, i, Taf. 58. (8) Kylix by
Kachrylion in Palermo; Hartwig, Meisterschalen, Taf. i. (4) Hydria, style of Euthy-
mides in Louvre. Room G., A, 41.
» Cf. Gkrhard, A. V. 84, 85, 49 and 221.
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492 JOSEPH CLARK HOPPIN.
provides the warrior with a hand passing under the chin. It ia
probable, however, that the lower line of what appears to be hia
chin in the lower edge of the helmet (cloned), and the line which
has been continued in the restoration as a band reaching to his
ear, ia the outer edge of the lower end of the helmet. Restored
as. a Korinthian helmet, it fills the gap perfectly. A glance at
the stooping figure on the Exekias kylix (see above, note 21)
will show how the figure looked. Instances of foreshortening
similar to that of the shield on our vase may be found in plenty
in the Auserlesene Vasenbilder.
Finally, we must consider the Seilenos on the inside of the
kylix. We find the motive of a Seilenos carrying a skin was
used frequently by the painters of black-figured vases.28 We find
very nearly an exact duplicate of the figure under consideration
on a red-figured kylix by Epiktetos.24 Though our Seilenos is
probably earlier than the Berlin kylix, we are not justified in
crediting the invention of this motive to Psiax. We know
Epiktetos was a far more original worker than Psiax, and in a
case of doubt as to which one the invention of this motive should
be ascribed, there should be no hesitation in giving it to the for-
mer. Save for a certain delicacy in the incising of the lines, our
Seilenos has little to distinguish him from a hundred others. He
is simply the type, repeated with monotonous regularity, of legs
drawn in profile, body de face, and head turned in the direction
opposite to that in which the figure moves.
Our summing up need not be derogatory to Psiax in any way.
As I have shown, his originality is not great, but his convention-
ality was a common fault of the time. Considering the time in
which he lived, that probably only some twenty years had elapsed
since the introduction of red-figured vase painting, we find him
handling his material with a surprising facility. He seems to
have been a careful student of nature, for three of his figures, the
athlete and the two warriors, must have been common sights of
his time, and he has succeeded in reproducing them fairly well.
We have not enough of his work to trace his progress, but such
M Of. Gerhard, A. V 38, 286 and 317-181. In the two former cases the skin ia
carried over the shoulder and in the last under the arm.
u Berlin, No. 2262. A. V. 272.
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A KYL1X BY THE ARTIST PSIAX. 493
as we have raises him from a purely inferior position to one in
which he may fairly compete with many masters of the cycle to
which he belonged.
In conclusion, I wish to express my thanks to Professor Furt-
waengler for kindly allowing me to publish this vase, as well as for
his suggestions; to Mr. Cecil Smith, of the British Museum, for
reading this paper, and for the valuable criticisms he has given
me; and to Dr. E. Wagner, of Karlsruhe, and Professor von
Stern, of the University of Odessa, the former for the photographs
of the Karlsruhe vase, and the latter for the copy of his article
and the excellent drawing of the Odessa vase therein contained*
Such kindness has gone far to make my task an easier one.
Joseph Clark Hoppix.
Munich, June 20, 1895.
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.
W. M. Flinders Petrie. Egyptian Decorative Art. A Course of
Lectures Delivered at the Royal Institution. 8vo., pp. vin-128.
G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1895.
This little volume is a valuable contribution to the history of de-
corative art. It is limited, as indicated by the title, to Egyptian
decorative art ; but inasmuch as the decorative types of Greece and
Rome and of their successors may be traced in great measure to those
of Egypt, the volume has more than a limited interest. The subject
is treated under the general headings : Geometrical Decoration, Natu-
ral Decoration, Structural Decoration and Symbolical Decoration ;
within these lines there are many enlightening statements in re-
gard to the history and development of various decorative motives.
The two earlier chapters are longer than the others. The develop-
ment of the spiral motive, from its simple forms upon early scarabs
to the most complicated networks upon Egyptian ceilings, is treated
with great insight. The fret patterns are shown to be modifications
of corresponding spirals due to the influence of weaving. Under
Natural Decoration are included feather patterns, one form of which
is the so-called scale pattern, and the many forms derived from Egyp-
tian flora. Mr. Petrie adopts the usual assumption that the papyrus
figures largely in Egyptian decorative art, but fails to make clear that
such is the case. Under Structural Decoration, he offers an explana-
tion for the somewhat puzzling lanceolate leaves which figure upon
almost every Egyptian cornice. These he refers to palm branches,
which were frequently left projecting from the top of wicker fences.
These lectures are amply illustrated by two hundred and twenty
figured designs, in which the colors are indicated by means of the
ordinary heraldic signs. It is unfortunate that, on the page entitled
Abbreviations, the symbol for yellow is given incorrectly. On the
same page is misspelled the name of Schuchhart, an abbreviation for
which is given as Schuck. There are several irregularities of spelling,
such as Gizeh and Ghizeh, Tahutmes and Tahutimes. Amenhotep
appears once as Amenhetop. A. M.
494
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS 495
William Doerpfeld. Troja, 1893. Bericht ilber die im Jahre
1893 in Troja veramttalteten Ausgrdbungen. 8vo., pp. 140, 2 pi.
F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1894.
This little volume gives an account of the excavations made at His-
sarlik in 1893, in continuation of the excavations made by the late
Dr. Schliemann. The last excavations of Schliemann upon the site
of ancient Troy, made in 1890, did much to bring to light the ruins of
what is now called City in. His report has been translated into Eng-
lish, and is found as an appendix to Schuchhardt's Schliemann^ Exca-
vations. Through the kind assistance of Mrs. Schliemann, Dr. Doerpfeld
was enabled in 1893 to continue the excavations. The work of that
year had the important result of ascertaining that City vi counting
from the lowermost was Mykenaean in character and that the remains
of this city lie wholly outside of the walls of what had been previously
described as the Pergamos of Troy. The Mykenaean remains which
lay within the walls of City in Dr. Doerpfeld believes to have been
cleared away in the rebuilding by the Romans. The Mykenaean
character of City vi he believes .fully established by architectural,
evidence and by the discovery of pottery of Mykena-pan style. The,
surrounding wall enclosed a larger space than that of the preceding
settlements, was polygonal in plan and had rebates at. the angles — a
peculiarity which has been discovered also in the Mykenaean ruins
upon the island of Gha. The buildings which he brought to light
consist of several megara. One of these was larger than the megara at
Tiryns and Mykenai. Another having a row of columns through its
centre he describes as a temple from its evident analogy to the temple,
described by Koldewey, at Neandreia. This identification, if true, is
of considerable importance since it is the first temple of the Mykenaean
period yet discovered. City vi at Troy holds an important place in
the history of Mykenaean architecture, since its buildings were wholly
of stone and of better workmanship than similar constructions at
Tiryns and Mykenai. The number of superposed fortresses or settle-
ments have now been determined to be at least nine, which Doerpfeld
describes in the following summary : I. Lowest primitive settlement.
Walls made of small broken stones bonded with clay. Primitive finds.
Period estimated from 3000-2500 B. C. II. Prehistoric fortress with
strong walls of defence and large brick dwellings, three times destroyed
and rebuilt Monochrome pottery. Many objects of bronze, silver and
clay. Probable period 2500-2000 B. C. Ill, IV, V. Three village-
like, prehistoric settlements above the ruins of burned fortress II.
Houses of small stones and brick. Early Trojan pottery. Period
about 2000-1500 B. C. VI. Fortress of Mykenaean period, strong city
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496 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHMOLOQY.
walls with a large tower and stately houses of well wrought stone, the
Pergamos of Homer's Troy. Developed monochrome Trojan pottery
together with imported Mykenaean vases. Period about 1500-1000
B. C. VII, VIII. Village settlements of early and late Greek times,
two separate layers of plain stone houses above the ruins of City vi.
Local monochrome pottery and almost every variety of Greek keramics.
Period 1000 B. C. to the Christian era. IX. Akropolis of the Roman
city Ilion with the celebrated shrine of Athene and magnificent marble
buildings. Roman pottery and other objects and marble inscriptions.
Period from the beginning of the Christian era to 500 A. D.
The new discoveries of pottery and the inscriptions are published
and brieHy described by Dr. Alfred Brueckner. A. M. •
Paul Girarj>: de V Expression des Masques dews les Drames <T
EschyU. Reprinted from the Revue des fitudes grecques, 1894
and 189;').
The whole question of the character of the masks worn by actors in
the classical period of the Greek drama is involved in obscurity. The
notices of Pollux, Suidas, and other late writers are of extremely
doubtful value for the age of Aischylos and Aristophanes. Our positive
knowledge for this period amounts to very little, much less than most
writers on scenic antiquities have been willing to acknowledge. Judg-
ing from the universal use of masks in late Greek tragedy and comedy,
we should have the right to assume their use by Aischylos, even if
Horace had not recorded the tradition which attributed their inven-
tion to him. Furthermore we have no reason to discredit the story
that the actors in the rude early comedy smeared wine-lees on their
faces to effect a disguise. From this to a simple, perhaps stained,
linen mask, which is attested for the latter part of the fifth century by
a fragment of the comic poet Plato (Movivov trpwrwrov) is an easy step.
Aristotle did not know who took this step in comedy. The earliest
reference to the tragic mask seems to be Arist. Thesm. 258. Euripides
is getting from Agathon a tragic costume in which to dress his ic^Scon^.
In answer to his request for a head-dress Agathon replies : ffii /xcv ow
K€<f>aXrj ircpideras rjv iyio vvKTOip <^>optt>, with these words offering him a
sort of night-cap. If this article was not a complete mask for the face,
at any rate it was a sufficient disguise for the man who was to mas-
querade as a woman. Of about the same date is the reference to a
irtpiOtrov TrpocrtaTTov in the comic poet Aristomenes. Aristotle refers to
both tragic and comic masks but gives no information about their
structure and appearance. We are justified in believing the statement
of Platonius that the masks of the old comedy were so made as to sug-
gest, often in caricature of course, the features of the person repre-
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 497
sented. This is in accordance with the nature of the old comedy, and
is distinctly to be inferred from Arist. Eq. 230 ft". Probably not until
late in the fourth century were portrait masks displaced altogether by
the typical masks catalogued by Pollux. In tragedy the more famil-
iar figures of mythology may have received a similar conventional
treatment as early as Sophokles.
So much we may claim to know on good authority about the masks
used in the classical drama. But as regards the details of their struc-
ture, the expression given to them by the <ncevoiroios, and the extent to
which they admitted, on the part of the actor who wore them, of the
play of feature which to us moderns is so essential to an artistic dra-
matic performance, our knowledge is seriously circumscribed by the
fact that all our information is derived from very late writers and
works of art. It is manifestly unmethodic to accept without question
Lucian's descriptions as correct for the tragedy of six centuries before.
Such masks, and those found in late wall-paintings, vase painting,
statuettes and the like, may be regarded as direct descendants of those
of the earlier period. In fact it seems probable that the paintings
from Pompeii give evidence for the usage of the Alexandrian period.
And yet we cannot know what changes took place in the make-up of
mask 8 during the long period of evolution in all things theatrical that
extends from Euripides to Menander, and then to Lucian. To gain
even a provisional idea of the tragic mask of the fifth century, we
must have recourse to the dramas themselves, though the evidence
there found must be employed with extreme caution for purposes of
reconstruction, although it may prove valuable to correct and control
the data gained from later sources.
M. Girard, in the interesting series of articles under consideration,
has undertaken to throw light on this difficult and delicate question.
He has prefixed to the analysis of the plays of Aischylos two pre-
liminary studies : 1 ) Us jcux de physicmomie dans la poisie grecque avant
Eschyle, and 2) lesjeux de physionomie dam la sculpture et dans la peinture
jusqiCau temps d'Eschyle. The results obtained from these careful and
discriminating studies are in brief as follows : The various expres-
sions of the human countenance as mirroring the emotions of the soul
were well understood by the Greeks at a very early period. The epic
and lyric poets accurately and skilfully describe not only the simple
emotions, but also the more complex, even in their more delicate
shades, by reference to their effect on the features. The slow progress
of art in the same direction forms a marked contrast Early sculp-
ture oftentimes labored under the constraint of convention, but even
its attempts to impart lifelikeness resulted in failure; witness the
" archaic smile." Portrait sculpture was hardly successful before the
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498 AM ERICA X JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY.
fourth century. Painting, however, was more precocious in this
respect than sculpture. Polygnotos succeeded in some degree in
faithfully rendering the traits of the physiognomy. The best evidence
is found in vase-painting, in which the eyes, brows, mouth, and the
main lines of the face received intelligent treatment before the time of
Aischylos. Special aptitude for the portrayal of foreign types and of
monsters was early shown. But at best art was far behind literature
in the power of depicting the human face in its various moods.
M. Girard finds in Aischylos still greater knowledge of the mean-
ing of facial expressions than was shown by his predecessors. To a
limited extent the expression of the mask may be derived from the
text. For example the mask of the Oceanides expressed sadness, that
of the chorus iri the Septem terror, that of the chorus in the Choephoroe
was ridged with bloody furrowsv etc. On the other hand the many
shades of expression could not be rendered by the mask, especially
changes of expression during the course of the action, except where a
change of mask was practicable. In general the face was imprisoned
in a rigid covering which gave one expression only, unchanged by the
emotions which affected the character. The result was a monotony,
an unnatural stiffness, that must have been depressing even to an im-
aginative Athenian audience, thoroughly accustomed to the unwieldy
conventions of the stage. This would be especially repugnant to our
feelings in the cases which Girard collects, where the character enters
wearing at the very beginning an expression which is appropriate only
to a situation which occurs during the progress of the performance.
Yet he accepts cheerfully what seems to be a necessity, finding a
partial explanation of the strange custom in the familiarity of the
Athenians with the stationary figures of unchanging expression in
contemporary wall-paintings. In short M. Girard 's conception of the
masks of Aischylos differs from that of M tiller, Arnold, and others
practically in this alone — that he presupposes somewhat less skill on
the part of the artist who painted them.
It is to be regretted that the author of this valuable paper proceeded
with an excess of caution due, perhaps, to a failure rightly to estimate
the value of the late evidence on the structure of tragic masks for the
reconstruction of the masks of Aischylos. The majority of the refer-
ences in late literature, Greek and Roman, cannot be used at alL
Pollux describes, in addition to the masks of his own day, only those
which he found in his sources, mainly Juba of Mauritania, who drew
upon the work of Aristophanes of Byzantium irtpl wpocrunrw, on whom
depend most of the scattered notices in the scholia. As a matter of
fact very few of the tragic masks catalogued by Pollux can be iden-
tified with the tragic characters of the fifth century; excepting the
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 499
}k<tk€vo. Trpoo-offra, which would be liable to little change. In view of
these facts the force of the author's observations leads distinctly to the
conclusion that the early masks allowed much greater freedom to the
actor's face than those of a later period. The coloring of the face
would lead naturally to the employment of a wig extending down to
the eyes. With the addition of a beard the face would still be left
free. With a mask of this kind any character could be imper-
sonated, without loss of the facial expression essential to real acting.
With the introduction of the typical characters of the new comedy
masks which covered the whole face may have come into use, and the
custom may have affected tragedy also,1 which was no longer in a
position to resist harmful innovations. For the professional class of
actors, who took both comic and tragic rOles, this would have been a
great convenience, and may be ascribed to their influence. A similar
change took place at Rome in the first century. In his early days, as
Cicero tells us, Roscius played without a mask, and, after he had
yielded to the new custom, which recommended itself to him on
account of his imperfect eyes, certain of the older generation could not
reconcile themselves to his wearing it. It seems to me, therefore, on
the strength of these general considerations, quite conceivable that the
tragic mask of the fifth century did not always cover the whole face. I
do no more violence to the tradition than does M. Girard when he rejects
the oyicos for the time of Aischylos. Of these considerations the most
weighty are furnished by M. Girard himself, and admit of strong rein-
forcement from the plays of Sophokles and Euripides. Theodor
Mommson has in fact pointed out that the realistic tendencies of the
last named poet should logically have led to the abandonment of the
mask altogether.
In support of this belief, to which M. Girard has led me, I may be
permitted to adduce a few further arguments. The burlesque tragic
mask in the passage from Aristophanes above quoted, the earliest
reference we have, did not cover the whole face. Such half-masks,
which left the lower part of the face free, are found depicted in ancient
art (cf. Wieseler, Theatergebaude und Denknxaler, Taf. vi, 4, x, 1), and
may well be reminiscences of an earlier custom. Furthermore the
tragic actor of the classical period was able to express with the greatest
art the emotions suitable to his part, if we are to believe the story told
by Gellius of the famous actor Polos, the instructor of Demosthenes.
Polos was playing the part of Elektra in the play of Sophokles. When
he came to the scene in which Elektra takes the urn supposed to con-
iOne of the earliest representations of the tragic mask in art, a relief from
Peiraieus, is of the full-faced kind. Robert thinks the work is of the fourth century,
though the inscription is much later. See Ath. Mitth., 1882.
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500 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOUY.
tain the ashes of her brother, Polos took in his hands the urn that con-
tained the remains of his own son who had recently died, and acted
the scene non simulacns neque incitamentu, sed luetu tUque lament** ueris
et gpirantibus. It is unnecessary to say that he could not have had his
face enveloped in the rigid mask of later times
M. Girard's article is deserving of careful study by all who are
interested in ancient art and the classical drama. It is full of interest-
ing observations and discussions which space doe* not permit to report
severally. I may mention, however, as especially interesting to stu-
dents of the drama, the classification of the types of masks in Aischy-
los, the remarks on the close relationship between Aischylos and the
stage-drama, on the chevelure of the characters of Aischylos, and his
explanation of the origin and purpose of the oyicos, which he thinks
was devised to counteract the flattening effect of the strong light falling
upon the heads of the actors, especially from the point of view of
the spectators who occupied the upper rows. It may be remarked
that this is another argument against an elevated stage; for there
would have been much less need of the oy#co* for this purpose if the
actors occupied the top of the proscenium than if they moved on the
level of the orchestra. Edward Capps.
F. L. Van Cleef. Index Antiphonteus. (No. v of Cornell Studies
in Classical Philology.) 8vo., pp. vi-173. Published for the
University by Ginn k Co., Boston, 1895.
Indexes of the classical writers, complete and trustworthy, which
shall present every word in its every occurrence, are invaluable to clas-
sical scholars. Studies in syntax, diction, and style are th us greatly facili-
tated. The investigator is at once spared much labor, and his inductions
are based on a complete survey of the facts. Indexes of this thorough-
going order are comparatively recent, — von Essen's Thucydides 1887 ;
Paulsen, Hesiod 1890 ; Gehring, Homer 1891 ; Preuss, Demosthenes
1892.
This Index to Antiphon has several admirable features. It is
absolutely complete, where Preuss leaves a dozen words untouched
and other articles imperfect, and it goes much further than its pre-
decessors in classifying uses and constructions. More noteworthy
still, the work is practically a concordance — enough of the context is
quoted to show at a glance meaning and construction without turning
to the text. Numerals at the end of each article and subdivision give
the statistical summation. In many cases (pronouns, conjunctions,
particles) a second and third tabulation is added to show position of
the word in the sentence, or its relation to other words in set phrases.
Nothing so thorough has yet been attempted. The text is that of
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. ")01
Blass in the easily accessible Teubner series. Freedom from errors
has been secured by the doubled labor of verifying every reference
from the printed proofs.
The author announces his intention of proceeding with the other
unindexed orators of the Canon. Praise is due the University, which
makes possible the publication of works like this, in which no pub-
lisher can expect to find profit. Every fresh addition in this line
advances the study of the development of syntax and style and pre-
pares the way for the final Greek lexicon. The author will have no
mean reward for his patient toil (no tyro can do this work, mechan-
ical as it might seem) in its immediate appreciation by scholars every-
where, as well as in the realization that few works in the classical
sphere are so sure of abiding a permanent treasure. S. R. W.
W. M. Ramsay. The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia ; being an
essay of the local history of Phrygia from the earliest times to
the Turkish Conquest. Vol. i. The Lycos Valley and South-
western Phrygia. 8vo., pp. xxn-852. $6.00. Oxford, Claren-
don Press. New York, Macmillan & Co. 1895.
Prof. Ramsay has again laid students of antiquity under obligation
to him by the researches into the geography and history of Asia Minor
which are contained in this work. The present volume, the first of a
series on the Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, is confined to the valley
of the Lycos and South-western Phrygia; bat the material collected,
even from this limited area, is so large and of such varied interest that
it was well to publish it by itself. Phrygian history moreover is not
a unit. At different periods the territory was differently divided. Its
parts were often politically separated. Its chief cities were quite dis-
tinct in origin and often in their customs. Hence the historian of
Phrygia must necessarily present us with a series of studies, largely
independent of one another; so that this volume does not suffer from
being issued alone but has value entirely apart from that of the rest of
the series.
There are but few scholars competent to criticise in detail the results
at which Prof. Ramsay has arrived in the field which he has made
peculiarly his own. His book is rather one out of which other his-
tories will be made. Some of his minor statements will no doubt
be contested by other experts. Some of them indeed are put forward
tentatively by the author. But his main facts and inferences are in-
contestable and every scholar, who is interested in the history of
Western Asia, will be grateful for the exact descriptions, the large
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502 AMERICAN JOURNAL-OF ARCHEOLOGY.
number of minute data, the many inscriptions which Prof. Ramsay
has provided for his consideration and use.
The volume begins with a sketch of the topography of the region
under review and a brief outline of its political and religious history
from the earliest period,— when the invading Phrygians from the
North met and mingled with the obscure ' Hittites ' on this territory, —
on through the successive domination of Oriental, Greek, Roman,
Byzantine and Tukish powers. The land was always a battle-ground
of opposing systems and often of opposing armies. Hence the paucity
of its remains. Hence too the remarkable differences which the cities
of this region maintained, side by side with, the blending of divergent
customs and ideas. After the introductory sketch, there follow studies
of the separate cities or groups of cities, giving all that is known of the
origin, situation, religion, social and political regulations of each ; each
chapter being also accompanied by a collection of the extant inscrip-
tions and a list of the bishops, so far as recoverable, of the city or dis-
trict under review. The chief places thus described are Laodiceia,
Hierapolis and Colossai. The historic importance of these makes the
facts collected about them of unusual interest. Some of the smaller
cities, however, supply equally valuable material. In such a large
collection of diverse information, each reader will be attracted by
those facts which pertain to matters in which he is specially inter-
ested, and his valuation of the book will be apt to depend on his par-
ticular point of view. Without meaning to slight the other features of
the work, we have noted the information given as to the political
officers of the Asian municipalities. The descriptions which bear on
this are mainly confirmatory of facts already known, but supply new
and interesting proofs. Those of Laodiceia and Hierapolis are specially
full and instructive. The religious ideas of the people are also note-
worthy. Of course there was a blending of these, first of the Phrygian
with the older Lydian and then of both with the ideas of the Grseco-
Roman world. Yet the original types frequently persisted. In
Hierapolis the Lydian held its place with its emphasis upon the
female conception of deity and its consequent tendency to extreme
immorality ; in Colossai, the Phrygian, with its emphasis on the male
element in deity ; while in Laodiceia and Tripolis the characteristic
features were Greek. Ramsay remarks of the Lydian cultus (p. 96)
that its ritual, not being in accord with the facts of life or with the
integrity of the family and of society, the work readily yielded to the
progress of early Christianity, since the better educated portion of the
people felt the need of a more natural and purer religion. Equally
instructive is the light thrown by the inscriptions on burial customs.
Many of the inscriptions are from tombs, and express the intense
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REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 503
desire of the departed that his sepulchre should not be violated. The
Phrygian tombs were conceived to be temples and the dead to have
either returned to God or to have became themselves deified. There
is a notable absence however from the inscriptions of statements con-
cerning the nature of the future life. The volume contains a map of
S. W. Phrygia, but none of Phrygia as a whole. The index is
doubtless to appear at the close of the whole work, but one for the
separate volume also would be an aid to future students.
George T. Purves.
Otto Waser. Skylla und Charybdis in der Literaturund Kunst der
Griechn and Romer. 1894, 8vo., pp. 147. F. Schulthess,
Zurich.
The author of this monograph has collected with great care and
patience the available information concerning Skylla and Charybdis.
As Skylla is by far the more interesting person — for Charybdis hardly
arrives at the dignity of personality at all — the greater part of the
book is devoted to her. The name Skylla, as also Charybdis, is
derived from a " Semitic " source, /. £., from the Phoenicians, who were
the teachers of the Greeks concerning the sea and its dangers. They
sailed about Sicily and gave the names of Skylla and Charybdis to the
dangerous points of the straits of Messina. So far Waser accepts the
conclusions of other scholars, adding no new facts in defence of those
conclusions. In her essence, Skylla is the personification of the sea
and its dangers. This is shown by her genealogy. In the Odyssey,
xn, 124, her mother is called Kparau'?, but this is a mere epithet of
Hekate (Ap. Rhod. iv. 828 f.). Other genealogies are discussed, but
the conclusion is reached that Hekate-Krataiis and Phorkys were the
real parents of Skylla. Her relations to Hekate, Gorgo, and Glau-
kos are discussed at length, showing how she is at once a personifica-
tion of the sea and a demon of death. Nearly all the so-called
representations of Glaukos with Skylla are doubted or rejected. In
some cases not Glaukos but Triton is represented. That the Skylla of
Megara is confused with the terrible demon Skylla by late poets is
mentioned, and the discussion of Skylla and Charybdis in literature
closes with a series of notes or remarks on the passages in classical and
patristic literature in which they are referred to.
In the course of his discussion of Skylla and Charybdis in art, Waser
•comes to the satisfactory conclusion that Charybdis does not appear
in art at all. Skylla, on the other hand, is represented many times
And in different ways. Most frequently she has the head and trunk
of a young woman, from about her waist spring the bodies, forelegs,
And heads of beasts, and she ends in a fish's tail, or later in two such
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504 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
tails. The number of beasts varies from two to eight, and their char-
acter is not always the same. Sometimes they partake of lupine or
equine nature, but they are usually dogs, either two or three in num-
ber. Nearly or quite all Etruscan figures which have been called
Skyila are found to represent no person of Greek mythology, but an
Etruscan demon. An enumeration of coin types and gems represent-
ing Skyila is followed by a brief treatment of paintings and a discus-
sion of fragments of a group of statuary. Parts of several replicas of
this group exist. In addition to those mentioned by Farnell in the
Journ. of Hell. Stud., 1891, p. 54 ff. (who gives references to earlier
literature), fragments in the basement of the British Museum are dis-
cussed (cf. Arch. Anz , 1866, p. 208). The group represented Skyllagirt
with sea-dogs brandishing in her right hand an oar, while her left
seized a bearded man by the hair. Each of the dogs had seized one
of the companions of Odysseus whose ship was indicated by a prow
at the right of the group. The group existed in a bronze copy in the
hippodrome at Constantinople if epigrams in the anthology can be
trusted, but other replicas were numerous, for Themistios (wept 4>iA*a9,
p. 279 Dind.) speaks of seeing the statue of Skyila in many places.
In this group Skyila did not end in fishy tails, but her lower parts
appeared to be hidden in sea weed. In style the group was related to
the Pergamene reliefs and the Laocoon group. An inscription found
in Bargylia in Caria together with the fragments of the Skyila group
in the British Museum bears the name of Me'Aas 'Ep/Wo-Kov, and a Melas
is known from an inscription in Thebes (Loewy, Inschr. gr. Bildh. No.
148) dated between 371 and 240 b. c. As this Melas was not aTheban,
Waser suggests that he may have been identical with the Melas of the
Bargylia inscription, and perhaps the Skyila group was his work.
But all that can be said about the style of the group points so strongly
to the second century b. c, that this identification is highly improb-
able. The monograph closes with a catalogue of representations of
Skyila. Thirty vases, one lamp,lwelve other reliefs, three figures in
the round (one repeated three times on a tripod), and one mosaic are
described. From this catalogue all representations discussed in the
body of the work are excluded. This is unfortunate, as a complete
catalogue would be convenient. The monograph can be recommended
as a careful and, apparently at least, complete collection of material,,
in the discussion of which the author shows both learning and good
sense. Not much that is new is offered, nor is there much originality
of speculation, but the subject is more exhaustively treated here than
anywhere else, so far as I know, and the conclusions reached are in
almost every instance perfectly sound. Harold N. Fowler.
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REVIEWS AM) NOTICES OF BOOKS. 505
Salomon Reinach. — Pienrs Gravees des Collections Marlborough et
<VOrUansy des Becueils d'Eckhel, Gori, Levcsque de GraveUe,
Mariette, Millin, Stosch, reanies et reeditees nrec an Texte Nouveau.
4*°, pp. xv, 195 ; plates, 187.
This is the fourth volume of the important series published by M.
Reinach, entitled Bibliotheque des Monuments Figure* Grew et Romains.
The aim of this series is to re-edit in handy shape, large and important
archaeological publications and to bring them within the reach of the
ordinary scholar's purse. In many cases the illustrations of monu-
ments are of great value, while the text is now antiquated. The text
of such volumes is therefore not reproduced, but instead of it brief,
explanatory notes and full bibliographical references. The first of
these volumes rendered more accessible the plates of Philippe Le Has'
Voyage Areheologique. The. second volume put before scholars the
illustrations of ancient vases by Millin and by Millingen. The third
re-edited the antiquities of the Cimmerian Bosphoros. The practical
character of the present volume may be seen from the fact that the
eight books, which form the series from which the illustrations are
taken, were published in thirteen volumes, eight of which are in folio.
They were distributed over 1113 plates and could not be secured for
less than MXX) frcs. Two at least of the volumes are now quite rare.
The notes preceding the plates indicate the dimensions of the engraved
gems, their material and subjects and present bibliographical refer-
ences and a summary and critical estimate of the books which con-
stitute the source of the present volume. This work exhibits the
bibliographical learning and skill in interpretation, for which M.
Reinach is famous and enjoys a well-earned reputation. The plates
contain reproductions of 2150 engraved gems. A. M.
Walter Besant. Thirty Years Work in the Holy ImmI (1865-
1895). 8vo., pp. 256. Macmillan & Co. 1895. Price, $1.50.
This little volume is a record and summary of the English Pales-
tine Exploration Fund. It is intended to convey information to the
general public, who have not the leisure to follow the periodical and
large publications of the society. Here they may find a brief account
of the foundation of the society, of its first expedition, of the excava-
tions at Jerusalem, of the surveys of Western and Eastern Palestine,
and of the monuments of the country. Such a record prepared in 1886
had a wide circulation. The present volume is a new and revised
edition and comprises some account of the work of the last eight years.
A.M.
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506 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
James L. Bowes. Notes on Shippo. A Sequel to Japanese Enamels.
Large 8vo., pp. xn-109. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.,
Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road, Loudon, 1895.
This charmingly printed little volume forms a sequel to the author's
Japanese Enamels published in 1884. Alter giving a resume of that
volume he proceeds to give additional historical material based upon
original traditions and records. The term Shippo is used to designate
the Seven Precious Things, namely, gold, silver, emerald, coral, agate,
crystal and pearl, but is used in a wider sense for polychromatic
enamels in general. The earliest example of Shippo in Japan is a
mirror said to have belonged to Emperor Shomu, whose reign com-
menced 724 a. d. Although the evidence for .the date of this mirror
is not conclusive it is admitted by Professor Kurokawa, who compiled
the official work known as Kogei Shirio, and by other authorities to
be the earliest known example of Japanese Shippo. The mirror is
still preserved in the Imperial Treasure House at Nara and students
of Japanese art will be grateful to Mr. Bowes for the excellent repro-
duction of it here given. The second object described and figured is
the Origoto of Chomei, a Japanese harp referred somewhat doubtfully
to the second half of the xir century. From the xv and xvi centuries
to modern times, Shippo has been produced with occasional periods
of revival or decadence. In spite of the various local traditions that
this art was of foreign origin, Mr. Bowes holds to its continous Japanese
character and to the finer quality of the earlier as compared with
modern work, which is made largely for export. As an appendix he
adds notes upon glass making, on forms and uses of enamel works, on
signatures and other marks and a careful study of the works of the
Hirata family. A. M.
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ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS.
Summary of recent Discoveries and Investigations.
I \C.E. PACK. PAGS.
ASSYRIA, 510 GERMANY, 577 SWITZERLAND, .... 585
BABYLONIA 607 » GREECE, 523 SYRIA, 512
BOSNIA, 559 HUNGARY 586 TURKEY 659
CARTHAGE 522 KYPROS, 518 RUMANIA, 661
FRANCE, 561 I PERSIA, 1 516
ASIA.
BABYLONIA.
ON THE BABYLONIAN ORIGIN OF EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.— At the
last meeting of the International Congress of Orientalists in London,
Prof. Hommel's paper on the Babylonian origin of Egyptian hiero-
glyphics, and of Egyptian civilization in general, excited much atten-
tion. In a work which he has in preparation, Prof, Hommel claims
that Sumerian represents the oldest language of the world, and has a
close relationship with Turco-Tartaric languages on the one side and
with Aryan languages on the other. The derivations proposed by
him of some of the Aryan names of domestic animals, such as
"horse," k< donkey," u mule," " goose." u row," and "sheep," will sur-
prise philologists. — Biblia, Nov.
PUBLICATION OF BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN TEXTS. Prof. J. A.
Craig, of the University of Michigan, will shortly complete a series of
Assyrian and Babylonian religious texts, being chiefly hymns, pray-
ers, oracles, Wc.,.Kouyunjik Collections in the British Museum The
first part of the work will contain, on eighty-three autographed pages,
the cuneiform texts, together with a preface and a table of contents.
Vol. II, which will follow in the course of a year, will supply a full
transliteration, English translation, a short commentary and glossary ;
additional texts will also be appended. Dr. Craig's work will be
heartily welcomed by all those who, unable to find time to refer to
the cuneiform originals, wish to make themselves acquainted with the
507
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508 AMERICAS JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Babylonia..]
religious system of the Babylonians, the value of which for the Bible
student is now undisputed. — Biblia, Nov.
BABYLONIAN ARCH/EOLOGY. — In the annual report of the Soci£te
Asiatique (Journ. Ariatique, T. vi\ p. 15(>), the secretary sums up the
work of the last two years, in which he notices the expedition of
de Sarzec and the articles of Heuzey based upon the discoveries ; also
the four hundred and seventy tablets discovered by Scheil at Sippara.
Notice is also taken of the articles by Op pert in the Zeitsehrift fur
Assyriologie, based upon the discoveries of the University of Pennsyl-
vania expedition to Babylonia. One of these concerns an inscription
published by Hilprecht, which fixes at six hundred and ninety-six
years the interval which separated Gulkisar from Nebuchadnezzar,
thus affording the means of controlling and confirming the list of
kings of the second and third dynasties. Oppert also writes of an-
other inscription, published by Hilprecht, as the most ancient Semitic
inscription hitherto known. It dates probably more than four thous-
and years b. c. The author of it was Bengani-sar-iris, King of Akkad.
This name, which cannot be read with absolute certainty, cannot be
identified with Sargon I. on paheographic grounds; it seems to be
earlier than the time of Sargon.
THE CELESTIAL SPHERE OF THE CHALDAEO- ASSYRIANS. — Recent
studies upon the age of the Rig Veda have brought into prominence
the early character of the astronomical notions of the Hindus This
leads us to consider again the celestial sphere of the Chaldaeo- Assyri-
ans and of the dates to be assigned to the signs of the zodiac. To
this people is due the determinations, of the twelve zodiacal constella-
tions and of the signs by which they are known, with the exception
only of the Scales.
Thk Bull. — A Chinese document, it is said, records the observa-
tion of the star rj of the Pleiades, as marking the spring equinox of the
year 2357 h. <\ As a matter of fact, it had the same right ascension
as the point of the spring equinox of the year 2161 or 2170 b. c. This
has been made the [mint of departure for the exaggerated calculations
of Piazzi Smyth and Hali burton. The Romans, as we see from Ver-
gil, regarded the bull as the first of the zodiacal constellations. The
Romans' belief was but an echo of the ancient Chaldaean zodiac.
This symbol, therefore, belongs to the third or possibly fourth mil-
lennium.
The Lion — As the Bull coincided with the point of the spring
equinox, so the Lion coincided with the summer solstice. The lion
appears containing the point of the summer solstice upon one of the
two zodiacs of Denderah, which, however, dates only from Roman
times. The first original of this Egyptian copy, in making the sum-
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[BABYLONrx] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 509
raer solstice coincide with the annual passage of the sun in the sign
of the Lion, carries us back to a condition of the heavens which ex-
isted five or six thousand years from the present day. The zodiac,
therefore, dates from that time.
VrRoiN. — In Egypt also, at Esneh, a planisphere represents the
solstice point as placed, not in the sign of the Lion as at Denderah,
but in the following constellation, that of the Virgin. The same thing
occurs in a zodiac upon the ceiling of a pagoda near Cape Comorin,in
South Hindustan. About six thousand years ago the summer solstice
took place when the sun passed in the sign of the Virgin ; this brings
us back to the same date for the origin of the zodiac.
Aquarius. — The Chaldaeo-Assyrians connect with this symbol the
memory of the deluge recorded in one of the tablets of the epic of
Nimrod (Izdubar). In the year 2795 b. c. occurred the upper passage
of Aquarius toward the meridian. This conjecture has no great value,
but may lead to more fruitful discoveries. Upon a Babylonian cylin-
der Aquarius is represented in winter costume, from which we may at
least* learn that this sign is as old as Chaldaeo- Assyrian civilization.
Sirius. — Leaving the zodiac, we turn our attention to the remainder
of the celestial sphere. Sirius, the a of the constellations of the Great
Dog, and the most brilliant of the fixed stars, played, under the name
Sothis, an important role in the astronomical observations of the sub-
jects of the Pharaohs. Its rising announced to the Egyptians the
annual inundation of the Nile. The great cycle of the Chaldaeo- Assy-
rians, consisting of 1805 years, analogous to the Egyptian sothic period
of 1460, carries us back to the date 11542, at which time, according to
Oppert, men who lived in a country no farther north than the 23° of
latitude, might have observed the rising during a solar eclipse of the
star Sirius, which had hithertofore been concealed from them. This
date would be the most ancient in history.
The Dragon. — This constellation was undoubtedly one which
figured upon the celestial sphere of the Chaldaeo- Assyrians. It is
mentioned in the Book of Job, chapter xxvi, 13, and by Vergil in
Oeorg. i, 244-245. It appeared also in the figured monuments of
the Phoenicians. In the Caillou Michaux and analogous Chaldaeo-
Assyrian monuments in the British Museum, we find a great serpent
occupying a large portion of the sky. The Cabinet des Medailles of
the Bibliotheque Nationale contains a monument which figures a
divinity half-human, half-serpent, in the presence of the sun and
moon. This divinity apparently symbolizes a star of the heavens. —
P. Bourdais, Journ. Asiatique, 1895, p. 142.
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610 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOQY. [Assyria.]
A83YRIA.
BRITISH MUSEUM-OBELISK OF SHALMANESER II.— One of the most
remarkable monuments of the art and history of a bygone age in the
British Museum is the famous Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II.
After lying for centuries in its sandy grave amid the ruins of ancient
Nineveh, it was discovered by Layard at the close of 1840, and des-
patched, carefully guarded, to London. Round its four sides is a
finely written cuneiform inscription recording the annals of Shalmane-
ser for thirty-one years commencing b. c. 860; and at regular inter-
vals are twenty sculptured panels illustrating the presentation of
tribute to the Assyrian monarch. All the figures are sharp and well-
defined, and the different articles of tribute can be easily recognized.
The cringing, fearful attitude of the bearers, as well as the unmistak-
ably Jewish cast of the features, are admirably rendered.
The chief panel is about to be modelled by Mr. Alfred Jarvis (of
Willes Road, London), whose beautiful reproductions from the Assy-
rian sculptures have excited so much attention. Two hundred copies
are to be issued in Copeland's jnrian. This bas-relief is of more than
ordinary interest to biblical students. Jehu, King of Israel, is seen
prostrate before Shalmaneser, who stands erect. Around are various
court officials, one of whom is reading from a scroll the items of the
present with which the Israelitish king hopes to propitiate his power-
ful rival. High in the background are two circular figures, in one of
which we recognize the emblem of Ashur, the national god of the
Assyrians. On the margin is inscribed, in quaint arrow-headed char-
acters : " Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri."
THE OVERTHROW OF ASSYRIA, ACCORDING TO A NEW INSCRIPTION
OF NABU-NA'lD. — In 18S9, in his Untersuchungen zur alt-oriental isch en
Geschkhte, p. 03, Hujjo Winckler attributed the overthrow of the Assy-
rians in the year 600 to the Medes. This view, which received some
opposition at the time, seems now to be substantiated by the inscrip-
tion of Nabu-na'id, published in Maspero's Recuell de* traveaiix rel. &
Varcheol. egypL et asxyr., vol. xvm, a translation of which is published
in the Bed. Phil. Wuch.} 1895, No. 45. The portions of the first column
which still remain speak of the destruction of Babylon under San-
herib and of his death. The second column relates to the overthrow
of Assyria. The two columns read as follows : [The king of Suri=
Sanherib] " destroyed her (Babylon) temples and laid waste her
sacred lands and buildings. He captured Prince Marduk, brought
him to Assyria, and gave over the land to the wrath of the god.
Prince Marduk lived eleven years in Assyria. Then followed the time
in which the wrath of the king of gods, the lord of lords, was shown-
Sagil [the temple of Marduk in Babylon] and Babylon he acquired as
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[Assyria.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 511
his dwelling. The King of Suri [= Sanherib], who had laid waste
the land under the wrath of Marduk, was assassinated by his son.
[Column II, Lacuna ] He [the god] brought him (Nabopolassar)
assistance, held and subjected to his [the god's] command the King
of Manda, who had no equal, and ordered him to come to hi3 assist-
ance. In west and east, south and north he ravished everything, as a
flood, helped Babylon and plundered. The fearless King of Manda
destroyed the temples of all the gods of Suri and the cities of Akkad
(Babylon) which were hostile to the King of Akkad and had not sup-
ported him ; he destroyed their sanctuaries, left nothing remaining,
and destroyed them all." Since Manda was the general term for the
northeast people, here signifying the Medes, it is evident that Nabu-
na'id clearly says that the Medes alone brought war against Nineveh,
laying waste the section of Babylonia which sided with Assyria.
THE THUNDERBOLT OF THE ASSYRIANS.— In the Academy of Octo-
ber 2.), 1894, in a notice of my Flora of the Assyrian Monuments and its
Outcomes, it is stated that: "We have cpigraphic authority that the
god who carries the thunderbolt is Ram man, the god of the air, whose
weapon was the thunderbolt."
Count Goblet d'Alviella, in his review of the same book, in the
Revue dcVllistoire des Rel if/ions (torn, xxx, No. 1, p. 96), says: "J'ac-
cepterai parfaitement qu'un fac,onnant le trident mis entre les mains
de Ramman, dieu de Pair et de Porage, Partiste Assyrien ait etc influ-
ence, consciemment ou non, par sa propre facon de representor la tige
sacree avec des cornes symboliques. Mais ce n'est pas une raison
pour suivre M. Bonavia, quand il en deduit que Pattribut du dieu est
une forme reduite de Parbre sacre — cVst-a-dire une tige ornee d'une
paire de cornes — et que par suite, le fondre ou trident redouble repre-
sentait simplement chez les Assyriens une double paire de cornes avec
la tige sacree au milieu."
In my researches I put to myself the question : Why has the thun-
derbolt in Ram man's hand a straight middle prong, while the two
side prongs are wavy f In ail the photographs of lightning which I
have seen, the thunderbolt is wavy and never straight. Whence does
the straight middle prong of the mythological thunderbolt come?
The only answer that I could find to my question was that this
supposed thunderbolt was copied from a pair of spiral horns tied to a
stick, horns having been, from the most ancient times, used as a wea-
pon against the evil eye, and possibly also against all manner of evil .
spirits.
In studying the genesis of this form of weapon, or charm, it became
evident to me that the artist who placed that thunderbolt in Ram-
man's hand had seen the same thing somewhere else as a weapon of
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512 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Syria.]
gome sort, independently of thunderbolts; that the figure was so
registered in the convolutions of his brain, and that he unconsciously
gave it the same form when depicting a god of the tempest. The
caduceus in the hand of Mercury appeared to me to be the same thing
modified into a pretty form by Greek artists. Mr. Elsworthy, in his
recent book on The Eoil Eye, thinks that Mercury carried the caduceus
in his hand as a charm to guard himself, in his flights, against inju-
ries of the evil eye. And I do not think that the zigzag caduceus in
each hand of the god has ever been taken for a thunderbolt. So that
in spite of there being epigraphic authority that the god Ramman is
the god of the air, whose weapon is a thunderbolt, it does not appear
to me to follow that the Assyrian or Chaldaean artist did not copy this
form of thunderbolt from a previous form which had nothing to do
with thunderbolts, but originated in a pair of spiral horns tied to a
straight stick, and used as a protection against either the evil eye or
connected with some other superstition regarding evil power. — E.
Bonavia, in Academy, May 11.
SYRIA.
PHOENICIAN INSCRIPTIONS.— At a recent meeting of the Acad6mie
des Inscriptions, M. J. Halevy submitted an interpretation of four
inscriptions which have hitherto been imperfectly published and in-
adequately explained. The first two are Phoenician. One of them
relates to the vows made by a dynast at Lapithos, in Kypros, to the
god M el kart- Poseidon, on behalf of his father, who is described as
being 100 and 102 years of age; the other, which is very fragmentary,
belongs to a Phoenician dynast established, at a period still uncertain,
in the neighborhood of Zinjirli. Of the other two inscriptions, one is
found on a basrelief representing the King Barrekub surrounded by
his courtiers and his warriors. It reveals the name of a new Semitic
god, Bilharrfin. The last, belonging to the same king, records the
building of two temples, dedicated to the manes of the kings of Sam al,
u who will thus be provided," says the text, "with both a summer-
house and a winter-house " From this can be learned the extent to
which ancestor-worship had developed in Syria by the eighth century
b. c — Academy, Nov. 2.
PROF. JENSEN ON THE HlTTITE INSCRIPTIONS.— I have just been
studying the latest attempt to decipher the Hittite inscriptions, that
made by Prof. Jensen in the last number of the ZeiUchrift der Deutschen
morgenlandischen GeselUchaft (xlviii, 2). Unfortunately, I cannot say
that it is more successful than those that have preceded it. It is,
however, a little difficult to discuss it, as in a note prefixed to his
paper the author says that, since his MS. went to press, he has made
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[Syria] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 513
ao many additional discoveries as to render necessary the correction
of whole paragraphs in it. But as I shall not be in England when
the qext part of the paper appears, I must assume that the basis of
the decipherment will remain unchanged.
Like most of his predecessors, Prof. Jensen ha9 trusted too much to
the published texts. Only those who (like Mr. Rylands and myself)
have had to do with the publication of most of them can have any
idea how uncertain is a large part of the published characters. Where
the characters are in relief, and we do not know how they are to be
read, any obliteration of them makes it quite impossible to determine
their forms with certainty. The improved squeezes of the Hamath
inscriptions which have recently arrived from Constantinople have
shown how very faulty were our previous copies of these texts.
In his discussion of the name which we ought to apply to the in-
scriptions, Prof. Jensen has forgotten that anthropologists consider
the question to be settled by the casts of Hittite profiles made by
Prof. Petrie for the British Association from the Egyptian monuments.
The profiles are peculiar, unlike those of any other people represented
by the Egyptian artists, but they are identical with the profiles which
occur among the Hittite hieroglyphs.
As for the chronology of the texts, most of the points brought for-
ward by Prof. Jensen in support of his results are inconclusive. He
has not taken into consideration the possibility of local differences in
art or in the individual artist, and he is mistaken in supposing that
characters in relief are a mark of antiquity in the Egyptian monu-
ments. In fact, a study of Egyptian art would have taught him that,
unless we had been able to decipher the inscriptions engraved upon
them, the art of the Egyptian monuments would have afforded us a
very insecure basis for their chronological arrangement. But Prof.
Jensen's strong point is philology, not archieology.
He agrees with me in the age which I should assign to " the boss
of Tarkond6mos." But Prof. Hilprecht, our best authority at present
on cuneiform palaeography, tells me that the cuneiform inscription
upon it must be of the age of the Tel el-Amarna Tablets, instead of
that of Sargon ; and he would read the last two characters of the in-
scription— which, by the way, has suffered grievous things at the
hands of Prof. Jensen — Me tan, that is to say, Mitanni.
Prof. Jensen's system of decipherment mainly rests upon two as-
sumptions : (1) that the double obelisk, in which every one has hith-
erto seen the ideograph of " country," is a mere unmeaning duplicate
of the single obelisk, the ideograph of u king," which immediately
precedes it; and (2) that the second word in the royal inscriptions
which precedes the ideograph of "king" is not the name of the king,
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514 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Syria.]
but of the kingdom over which he ruled. The first assumption is
against the evidence of the " boss," which, after all, is the only solid
fact the decipherer at present possesses, and it is also against common
sense. The second assumption is most improbable: I can remember
no other case in the ancient East in which a king prefers to give his
territorial titles before giving his own name.
Moreover, the territorial names with which Prof. Jensen has identi-
fied certain groups of characters are all doubtful. We are not abso-
lutely certain that Jerablds represents the site, of Carchemish ; if it is
really called Jerabfs, it is more likely to have been Kuropus. The
Hamath king was, I believe, a conqueror, so that there is no reason
for supposing that the name of Hamath will occur in the Hamathite
texts, and that Mer'ash is the ancient Manjasi is merely a probable
conjecture. There is one place, however, the ancient name of which
we know. That is Malatiyeh ; and a monument, which Prof. Jensen
has not seen, has recently been found in the old mound there, with a
Hittite text running along over a representation of a lion hunt in the
Assyrian style. The inscription is well preserved and complete; but
none of Prof. Jensen's values will enable us to find the name of Milid
or Malatiyeh in it. On the contrary, a name identical with the sec-
ond word in the inscription of Mer'ash occurs in. it, in a position
which I think even Prof. Jensen will admit must indicate a proper
and not a local name.
I must pass over the improbabilities of a system of decipherment
which finds no proper names, but only territorial ones, on the clay
Hittite seals discovered at Kouyunjik, in spite of the fa<*t that the
Assyrian, Egyptian and Phoenician sea-Is discovered along with them
contain proper names and not territorial ones. Nor need I say any-
thing about the ideograph in which I see the determinative of a deity,
while Prof. Jensen believes it to denote a place, although Prof. Ram-
say has stated that no one who has seen the monument of Fraktiu
can reasonably doubt that I am right. Nevertheless, it is upon the
assumption that the sign in question represents a place that a good
deal of Prof. Jensen's system is built. But I cannot omit to note the
improbability that one of the most commonly-used characters should
have the consonantal value of s If there are symbols denoting vow-
els, and Prof. Jensen agrees with me in thinking there are, the doc-
trine of chances would oblige us to assign to it a vocalic sound.
The fact is that the insufficiency of our materials, and the uncer-
tainty of the reading of much that we possess, make the phonetic
decipherment of the Hittite texts impossible. A graphic decipher-
ment of them is another affair ; and, thanks to the use of ideographs,
I believe I can tell what the general meaning of the inscriptions must
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[Syria] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 515
be. But I have long been convinced that we shall never be able to
read them until a bilingual text of some length is discovered. That
so keen-sighted and well-equipped a philologist as Prof. Jensen should
have failed, is but a further proof of the hopelessness of the task. I
have tried every combination, possible or impossible, that I could
think of; but all in vain. Some of the combinations have given
names like Lubarna and Urkhamme, which we actually find in the
Assyrian records; but they all rest upon unproved and unprovable
assumptions, and sooner or later some new text turns up which shows
that they cannot be right. I do not mean to say that Prof. Jensen's
paper has been written in vain ; he has in it advanced the study of
the texts by putting old facts in a new light and establishing new
ones. And I believe that he must be correct in the arrangement
which he proposes for the Hittite characters on the boss of Tarkon-
d6mos. It suggests the question whether the little line, which we
have hitherto supposed to be a word-divider, does not really denote
that the word which it follows or precedes is a proper name. — A. H.
Sayck, in Academy, Oct. H, 1894.
THE SO-CALLED HITTITE INSCRIPTIONS.— In the Zeitschrift der Deut-
schen morgenUinduchen Gewllschaft (Vol. xlviii, pp. 235-352) I have
published the first part of a treatise on the so-called " Hittite " inscrip-
tions. I have endeavored to show that there is no real justification
for the use of this term, and have proposed (for certain reasons there
enumerated) to call the inscriptions in question by the provisional
name of u Cilician." The results of my work may be briefly sum-
marized as follows: (1) The system of writing used in these inscrip-
tions closely resembles the Egyptian system. (2) The meaning of a
certain number of signs, representing words or grammatical termina-
tions, has been determined. (3) The inscriptions date from about
1000 to 550 [600] b. c, which is approximately the date assigned to
them by such authorities as Ramsay, Hogarth and Puchstein. (4)
With the help of certain signs or groups of signs, which I believe to
represent proper names — Hamath, Karkemish, Gurgum [?], Cilicia,
Tarsus, Tar-Bi-Bi-ASH-8HE-m&, commonly called Tarkondemos, and a
title (Syennesis), I attempted to read several portions. In the Academy
of October 6 my essay was reviewed by Prof. Sayce, who pronounced
it a failure. But since his remarks are liable to mislead the reader as
to what I have maintained, it appears to me that I may venture to
offer some explanations.
Prof. Sayce endeavors to discredit my decipherment by stating that
1 have trusted too much to the published texts, but he does not point
out a single case in which I have based an interpretation upon a false
reading. Nor does he appear to have noticed that on p. 259 of my
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516 AMEAICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Pkrma.]
treatise I have given a long list of squeezes and casts which 1 procured
for myself because the published texts did not seem to be sufficiently
trustworthy. He moreover asserts that, in determining the dates of
the inscriptions, I have u not taken into consideration the possibility
of local differences in art or in the individual artist." Yet, as a mat-
ter of fact, I have clearly and repeatedly admitted that on account of
this very possibility my dates are approximate only, my confidence in
their general correctness being due to the convergence of two inde-
pendent lines of proof, etc., etc.
Such are some of Prof. Sayce's objections. As to others, the reader
may judge by the following example. In inscriptions from Hamath
I believed that I had discovered a group of characters forming part of
a royal title, and signifying " Hamath "; in inscriptions from Jerabis
(which is generally admitted to be in the territory of the ancient
Karkemish), a group signifying " Karkemish " ; in inscriptions from
Mar* ash (which is generally admitted to correspond to the ancient
Markash, the capital of Gurgum), a group signifying "Gurgum,"
or, perhaps, " Markash " ; in inscriptions which, according to my
decipherments, were set up by kings of Cilicia, a group signifying
" Tarsus/' a sign for " Cilicia," and a group representing the royal
title, " Syennesis." These readings mutually confirm one another to
such an extent that they must be regarded as justifying my conclu-
sions, unless some irrefutable argument can be urged on the other
side. Moreover, he completely ignores the fact that, assuming my
decipherment to be correct, I have made out among the titles of kings
mentioned in later inscriptions the graphical expressions for " king of
Tarsus," u king of Cilicia," and "Syennesis" (which, according to
very many scholars, was the title of the Cilician kings). Nor does
Prof. Sayce mention (1) that the groups of signs which I have ex-
plained as representing the aforesaid names mutually confirm one
another in the clearest manner ; (2) that even if I had wrongly ex-
plained certain groups my readings might still be correct, since some
phonetic values have been derived by me from several groups at
once ; (3) that my interpretation of a certain group as signifying
u Karkemish " is strongly supported by the fact that the group in
question contains, in the proper place, a sign which Prof. Sayce him-
self had explained (rightly, no doubt, though on erroneous grounds)
as representing me (mi). — P. Jensen, in Academy, Dec. 1, 1894.
PERSIA.
PERSIAN CASTS IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM.— In the report of
the United States National Museum, Cyrus Adler writes on Two Per-
sepolitan Casts in the United Slates National Museum. In 1892, the Hon.
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[Persia.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 517
Truxton Beale, U. S. Minister to Persia, announced that he had ob-
tained permission from the Persian government to remove some
objects from Perse polis for the United States National Museum. Such
transportation seemed impracticable, but when the arrived at Perse-
polis he found Mr. Blundell engaged in taking moulds of basreliefs
and cuneiform inscriptions for the British Museum. One of them
was presented to Mr. Beale and shipped to Washington. These two
moulds are the first ever taken of Persepolitan inscriptions. This in-
scription is from the west staircase of the palace of Artaxerxes, and, al-
though published in foreign journals, a translation of it is here given :
" A great god is Auramazda, who created this earth, who created
that heaven, who created mankind, who gave prosperity to mankindT
who made me, Artaxerxes, king, the sole king of multitudes, the sole
ruler of multitudes.
"Thus speaks Artaxerxes, the great king, the king of kings, the
king of countries, the king of this earth. I am the son of King Arta-
xerxes, Artaxerxes (was) the son of King Darius, Darius (was) the
son of King Artaxerxes, Artaxerxes (was) the son of King Xerxes,
Xerxes (was) the son of King Darius, Darius was the son of (one)
named Hystaspes, Hystaspes was the son of (one) named Arshama,
the" Achaemenide.
"Thus speaks the King Artaxerxes: 'This structure of stones I
have built for myself.'
"Thus speaks the King Artaxerxes: '' May Auramazda and the
god Mithra protect me, and this land, and what I have made.' "
The other cast is a relief of a royal body-guard, probably one of
the ten thousand immortals described by Herodotos. The figure re-
sembles in general the figures on the frieze of enameled bricks found
by Dieulafoy at Susa, a colored cast of which is in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York.
A BILINGUAL HITTITE SEAL— The Times of September 24 devotes a
column and a half to the description of a Hittiteseal recently acquired
by the British Museum. Besides figures with pig tails and the sym-
bol of the equilateral triangle, it bears an inscription which seems,
though nearly effaced, to have been written in Kypriote characters.
All the other known bilingual Hittite objects have had cuneiform in-
scriptions.— Academy, Sept. 28.
KADESH. — At a recent meeting of the AcadSmie des Inscriptions,
M. Philippe Berger submitted a report on the excavations made by
M. E. Gautier to determine the site of the ancient Kadesh. Two
spots in the valley of the Orontes contest the possession of this city :
the tumulus which now bears the name of Tell Neby Mindoh, on the
spurs of Lebanon, near the lake of Horns, and an island situated in
the middle of this lake. M. Gautier commenced on the lake of Horns.
He carried with him two boats that were capable of being taken to
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518 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Kypros.J
pieces, established himself in the island, and explored the tumulus
which occupies the centre of it. Unfortunately the results were nega-
tive, leading only to the conclusion that Kadesh was not built on the
present site of the lake of Horns. But M. Gau tier's excavations re-
sulted in his discovering in the island traces of a series of buildings,
one above the other, going back from the Byzantine epoch to the
neolithic age ; passing through the Graeco- Phoenician period, marked
by walls of elaborate construction, and the age of bronze, which has
left in evidence an entire series of tombs, containing numerous instru-
ments of great interest. —Academy, August 24.
INSCRIPTION FROM DJERACH. — The Louvre has recently become
enriched by a valuable Greek inscription from the neighborhood of
Djerach, in Syria, containing portions of an ancient law concerning
the maintenance of vineyards and their protection against thieves.
The region beyond the Jordan was from ail antiquity and up to the
times of the Arabian geographers famous for the abundance of its
grapes. — Athenaeum, July 13.
KYPROS.
THE CESNOLA ATLAS OF KYPRIOTE ANTIQUITIES.— After nine years
another volume has been issued by General Di Cesnola and the Me-
tropolitan Museum, also containing 150 lar^e plates, in five parts, with
1,110 figured objects. This volume is entirely given to pottery from
various parts of Kypros, some of it of an antiquity that may be 2000
b. c, while other objects come down to a middle or late Greek period.
Of some styles in which the Museum is very rich, but a small propor-
tion of the vases or other objects could be selected for the photogra-
vure or the colored lithograph, and many are omitted that one would
be glad to see, if the world were large enough to contain all the plates
that might be made ; but no fault can reasonably be found with the
selection. The most important are all included, and the artistic work
is excellently done, while the descriptions are sufficiently full and
accurate, although they enter very slightly, if at all, upon the critical
task of assigning dates and making comparisons with similar or differ-
ent pottery found elsewhere. This critical task is left to Dr. Murray,
the learned keeper of the Greek antiquities in the British Museum,
who supplies a very valuable introduction.
The terra-cotta figurines and heads came from two sorts of places ;
in general, tombs and temples. Dr. Murray discusses chiefly the
former. For the latter two places may serve as typical, the temple at
the Salines, whence came the Greek statuettes and heads of plates
XLVin to lv ; and the other, the relics of the temple of Apollo Hylates,
near Kourion. The date of the latter is uncertain, but probably earlier
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[Kypros.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 519
than the former. The figurines well illustrate the religious dance of
women about a central Aphrodite, and the playing on various musi-
cal instruments. The pictures of active life supplied in these terra*
cottas is very extensive.
The series from plates xlviii to lv furnish many illustrations of
the worship of various goddesses, of which there are scattered notices
all through the classics. This series all came from or near the temple
near the Salines — either the temple or the place where the accumu-
lated offerings were buried by the priests— and the date is well fixed
by the Phoenician inscriptions from the other temple, early fourth *
century b. c. Many of the objects are artistic, beautiful, and Greek.
Turning now from the work of the early coroplast and his human
figures in terra-cotta to what is more strictly the potter's ware, we
have to recall that since General Di Cesnola opened the treasures of
Kypros to the world, a number of very careful excavations have been
made in Kypros by trained archaeologists. In 1885 M. Diimmler
spent some months there, devoting himself chiefly to those cemeteries
where the oldest known forms of vases had been found, as at Alam-
bra, Leukosia and Kythera. His conclusion was that these ceme-
teries belonged to a people that lived at a date earlier than 2000 b. c,
who were probably of a Semitic race and certainly pre-Phoenician.
This is very early. The question is a very large one, and the date of
the pottery of the Mykenai type found all over the insular and littoral
region is much sought for. As W. Max Miiller says in his "Asien
und Europa nach altaegyptischen Denhnalern" sufficient attention does
not seem to have been paid to the evidence to be drawn from the
Egyptian monuments. These styles of pottery have been found in
Egypt and are figured in monuments in the time of Thothmes III.
They came from the land of Kefto, which seems to have indicated
Kypros and the Cilician coast, and to have been possessed by the early
" Hittite" population of Southern Asia Minor before the Phoenicians.
Among the types represented in paintings in Egyptian tombs of about
1600 b. c, and said to have come from Kefto, are pottery vases with
the marked Mykemean scale pattern (several examples), a number
with the very characteristic bands of spirals, sometimes covering an
entire vase (not the derived rope pattern so common in Hittite glyp-
tic art), and the bands of rosettes. Here we have a definite date given
us fop certain styles, although we do not know how long they may
have prevailed before and after. These figures, however, are numer-
ous enough to show, perhaps, to a skilled archseologist what styles
were passing out of use and what were the newer forms of decoration
as they are found in earlier and later tombs or layers in such compo-
site mounds as that at Hissarlik, which has been lately so very care-
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620 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Kypros]
fully studied, or at Santorin, Thera or Ialysos. The vase, pi. xc, No.
775, has a Kypriote inscription in characters of early form, adding
confirmation to the very early date of this pottery. It is a Mykenrean
pseudamphora of a short-lived fashion.
The vases with incised patterns, in squares and checkerboard de-
signs, seem to be the earliest, and to have continued down to perhaps
2000 or even 1500 b. c. ; these were followed, probably, by a style of
light yellowish gray or buff ware, ornamented in much the same pat-
tern, but no larger incised. The figures are in clear black, and show
very sharp on the light ground, giving us a style of ware very marked
and not really to be found elsewhere. Thus far there has been no
use of the potter's wheel, although the wheel had long been known in
Egypt. It is an interesting fact that the ware buried in the graves of
the newly-discovered " Amorite " people, found by Dr. Petrie, also
made no use of the wheel. The Cesnola collection is very rich in both
these styles of pottery, the incised and the black on light buff; and
we may observe that one specimen of the latter (fig. 761), has the
whole broad neck covered with the scale pattern of the Mykenai ware,
although it is probably of earlier date.
The Cesnola collection is also very rich in the Mykena*an type ;
but we must not delay over them, but must come to the great vase of
the type called u Dipylon," which is, perhaps, a little later, although
perhaps older than 1000 b. c. The Metropolitan Museum possesses
the finest specimen of this ware known, an immense vase, which will
strike the eye of every visitor to the Museum, and which is here ad-
mirably reproduced. It is nearly four feet high and two feet wide at
the greatest bulge, is of a light salmon-colored ware, and was found in
the temple vaults of Kourion. It has a high cover, and it is com-
pletely covered with bands of ornamentation. One of these is a series
of horses feeding, in a sort of frieze, encircling the vase in its broadest
part, above which is a series of designs of horses, deer, birds, etc., all
arranged in square metopes, so to speak, which remind Dr. Murray
of the adornments of the Assos temple, so that he is inclined to bring
it down to somewhere near 700 b. c, a rather late date. It is very
likely that this magnificent vase, than which no museum has a greater
treasure, was imported from Athens. The animal figures show the
budding out of the Greek freedom, while the rest of the vase, with its
checker-work, its bands, its rosettes, its circles of dots and its wavy
spirals (here corrupted to concentric circles, although Perrot, with no
authority whatever, makes them spirals), show the old, inelastic Orien-
tal influence. Large and small pieces of this Dipylon style haye been
found in the Greek islands and a few on the mainland. The Ialysos
specimens in the British Museum, found after Cesnola had left Kyprosr
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[Kypros] ARCHjEOLOOJCAL NEWS. 521
together with one or two specimens in Prance, are the nearest repre-
sentatives.
Another style of vase; of purely Kypriote origin and prevalence, de-
serves special attention, as it is very curious and is grandly illustrated
in these plates, although not a lew specimens fail to appear for lack of
room, some of "which we should have heen glad to see. This is what
Dr. Murray calls " Kypro-Phoenician." They are generally hig-bodied
pitchers, and are covered with birds, animals, lotus-plants or other
flowers, and human figures. Sometimes a band of rosettes, or of
angles apparently meant to simulate an Assyrian inscription, or a
guilloche (rope pattern) appears drawn directly across the body of
a goat or a goose, with curious ndiveii of composition. There are at
times strangely composite lotuses, and especially a sort of Assyrian
sacred tree with an animal or bird on each side in symmetrical her-
aldic attitudes. According to Dr. Murray these are marks of an active
and originative Phoenician influence. Whether he does not attribute
too much to Phoenician influence is a matter of doubt, unless he
means to class as Phoenician all the influence which came to Kypros,
after pervading the whole of Southern Asia Minor and Northern Syria
from Assyria by way of the Hittites.
Of the lamps, a number are peculiarly Kypriote; and one class
bears the same inscription on the bottom, more or less abbreviated.
The top is in various designs or patterns. All have two air-holes.
Some classes of lamps have been made from the earliest times down
to the present day. Their date and nationality have, of course, been
determined from the character of the tomb in which they were found.
Other of the lamps are of the Grueco- Roman origin and imported into
Kypros. Of these many bear their maker's mark ; and such are
known to have been made in Italy — mostly in the Greek cities. Simi-
lar lamps, by the same makers, are found all over the east Mediterra-
nean coast and islands.
Of the amphora?, one with cursive Greek writing shows that the
cursive Greek was many centuries older than had been supposed.
The same thing, however, is proved from the Egyptian potsherds,
though showing a different kind of cursive. The Rhodian amphora
have the excise stamp — eponym and name of Doric month — on the
handle.
The immense interest now taken in the history of early terracotta
and pottery gives promise of the early solution of the outstanding
problem of the age and succession of the more ancient varieties. We
have already learned that there must have been a very early com-
merce, if not thalattocracy, which distributed favorite designs all over
the coast of the eastern Mediterranean. It is a matter of great con-
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522 AMERICAS JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Carthage]
gratuiation that for one of the centres of this manufacture and distri-
bution the Metropolitan Museum possesses an unequalled series of
numerous and excellent specimens, and we are very glad to see them
so worthily published. We hope we may not have to wait nine years
for the concluding volume, which will contain the jewelry and other
minor objects, with the Kypriote, Phoenician and Greek inscriptions.
— Independent, May 9.
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM. — Handbook No. 2 of the Metropolitan
Museum concerning The Terracottas and Pottery of the Cesnda Collection
of Cypriote Antiquities has made its appearance. A catalogue, to be of
service to the general public, must necessarily be brief, especially
when, as in the present case, it has to deal with 165!) terracottas and
2004 specimens of pottery. But we miss in this handbook any evi-
dence of classification and of such guidance as would assist a visitor
to the museum to obtain a general view of the succession of styles.
Even with. this handbook in hand the visitor will be lost in a multi-
tude of specimens. Handbook No. 3 treats of Tht Stone Sculptures of
the Cemola Collection. More than 1800 objects are here noted with the
same lamentable lack of classification. It is unfortunate, also, that
the numbering of objects in these handbooks is different from that in
the Atlas of the Cesnola Collection.
AFRICA.
CARTHAGE.
PUNIC TOMBS. — Pere Dclattre is continuing his exploration of the
Punic necropolises of Carthage, and has already examined in detail
the contents of 125 tombs. Two of them are remarkable. One is a
mask in painted terracotta of peculiar type and shape of the beard.
The face is oval, and has on the cheeks short whiskers, the chin being
closely shaven ; the hair is thick and crisp, and covers the forehead in
a straight line ; the eyes have black pupils, and the color of the skin
is a deep red. The mask is moreover adorned with bronze earrings in
the shape of simple rings. The other object is a disc of terracotta
about ten centimetres in diameter, with a relief representing a warrior
on horseback galloping towards the right. He wears a helmet with
lofty crest, and carries a lance and a round shield ornamented with
concentric circles. Beneath the body of the horse is seen a dog, also
running towards the right, and in the field of the medallion is on the
right a lotus flower, and on the left the crescent moon with the horns
rising and embracing the disc. — Athenaeum, Aug. 10.
THE PHOENICIAN TANIT AND THE GREEK DEMETER— At a recent
meeting of the AcadSmie des Inscriptions, M. Clermont-Qanneau read
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[Grekck] • ARC1IJE0L00ICAL NEWS. 523
a paper upon the goddess Tanit and the worship of Demeter and Per-
sephone at Carthage. He attempted to explain the historical origin
of the goddess-mother Amma or Emm, whose existence is proved hy
three inscriptions recently discovered at Carthage. In one of these
she is found associated with another goddess, Baalat Ha- Hed rat, form-
ing a mythological pair which has no analogy in the Phoenician pan-
theon. By a series of ingenious inferences, M. Clermont-Ganneau
arrived at the conclusion that this pair of goddesses represents the
familiar Greek pair of Demeter and Korc His main argument was
drawn from a passage in Diodorus Sicuius, which states that the wor-
ship of Demeter and Persephone was adopted by the Carthaginians in
397 b c, after their disastrous campaign in Sicily. Two other Phoe-
nician inscriptions at Carthage expressly identify this foreign goddess-
mother with Tanit Penc\Baal, who occupies an important place in
Carthaginian religion. It appears, therefore — paradoxical as it may
sound— that the Phoenician Tanit was assimilated to the Greek Deme-
ter. This is supported by the fact that the most ancient coins of Car-
thage reproduce the head of Demeter, which is characteristic of the
coinage of Sicily. It is also probable that the cult of the African
Ceres, which conceived so great a development after the Roman con-
quest, is due to the same identification of Tanit with Demeter. -
Academy, Aug. 17.
GREECE.
AMERICAN SCHOOL AT ATHENS.— The fourteenth annual report of
the Managing Committee of the American School at Athens reports
the receipts of the year as $10,135.42, including a balance of $871.76
brought over from last year. There is carried over to the coming
year a balance of $2,051. The Argive excavations cost during the
year $1,700, and those at Eretria $500.
The report says that Dr. Charles Waidstein will not be compelled,
to sever his connection with the school on account of his election to
the Slade Professorship of Fine Arts at Cambridge, England. Closer
connection of the school with the Archaeological Institute is urged, as
well as nearer affiliation with the new School at Rome, and the sug-#
gestion is offered that the Institute should take part in the actual con-
trol of the school. With this aim in view the chief executive officer
of each of the three bodies has been made a member of the other two,
and the spring meetings of the three have been appointed for New
York City, and near together in time. The total cost of the Argive
excavations during the four years has been between $11,000 and
$12,000.
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524 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Grkkcb.]
Changes have been made in the regulations of the school in line
with the suggestions of Prof. White. The term of residence of stu-
dents in Greek lands is lengthened by two months, but, with the con-
sent of the director, two of the ten months required may be spent at
the Roman School. The executive committee has been enlarged so as
to accord more closely with that of the school at Rome.
The report of Director R. B. Richardson reviews some of the dis-
coveries of the year. At Kukunari he describes the stonework as
having one surface roughly tooled with parallel oblique marks similar
to that on certain stones of the Wall of Themistokles by the Dipylon
Gate at Athens, and also on some old stones of the Asclepieion, indi-
cating that the stones had come from some ancient walls near by.
There were found also fragments of native reliefs, including a horse's
head, a part of a span of horses, a seated female figure on an elaborate
chair of excellent workmanship, and several female figures suggesting
that at that point was the deme of Hekate, and the theme that of He-
kate entertaining Theseus. Other discoveries were eight cisterns, the
floor of a wine-press, the sacrificial calendar heretofore described, and
fragments of tile, all suggesting a demo of considerable magnitude and
importance. The calendar Director Richardson considers of great im-
portance, and it has been made the subject of much fuller discussion
(see Journal, Vol. x, No. 2). It prescribes the bringing of offerings
at certain dates, the prices of victims, and the names of many deities,
gome not yet known. As a result of its value, work will be resumed
at the spot where it was found.
The Eretrian excavations brought to light a room with pebbles
laid in cement, on which tested the tanks described in last year's re-
port ; a gymnasium 150 feet square, and a number of inscriptions, one
forty-nine lines long. Among sculptures found were: (1) An archa-
istic head. of the bearded Dionysos, preserved practically entire ; (2)
the upper part of a head which fitted a lower part Jn the Eretria Mu-
seum, and made a very good portrait head, and (3) the right upper
part of a head, probably of a youth, of good workmanship and belong-
ing to a good period. Among minor objects were a mask of Pan's
head and two silver coins with a wreathed head, perhaps Herakles,
and on the reverse a trireme on water. In digging a cellar opposite
the Royal Palace on Kephissia Street were found a Roman relief con-
taining a male figure of about life-size, a fine work ; also a female
figure fifteen inches high, with an inscription (see Journal, Vol. x,
No. 4).
The library now contains more than 2,400 volumes, exclusive of
gets of periodicals. It includes a complete set of Greek classics and
the most necessary books of reference for philological, archaeological,
and architectural study in Greece. — Evening Post. Nov. 7.
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[Greecb.] ARCffJBOLOQICAL NEWS. 525
The managing committee of the American School at Athens an-
nounce that at their last meeting Dr. Charles Waldstein, of King's
College, Cambridge, was reelected Professor of the History of Art for
the year 1896-97, and Prof. Herbert Weir Smith, of Bryn-Mawr Col-
lege, was invited to serve as Professor of the Greek Language and Lit-
erature for the same year. Prof. Abraham Lincoln Fuller, of Western
Reserve University, was elected to the latter chair for the year 1897-
98. Plans are under discussion by the committee for lengthening the
school year and elevating the standard of archaeological study. — Eve-
ning Post, Nov. 19.
FELLOWSHIPS AT THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS AT ATHENS.— The Com-
mittee on Fellowships has issued the following circular: —
In the spring of 1896, the Managing Committee will award two
Fellowships in Greek Archaeology, each of the. value of $600, to be
held during the school year 1896-97.
These Fellowships are open to all Bachelors of Arts of Universities
and Colleges in the United States. They will be awarded chiefly on
the basis of a written examination, but other evidence of ability and
attainments will be considered.
This examination will be conducted by the Committee on Fellow-
ships, with the assistance of other scholars. It will be held on
Thursday and Friday, May 21 and 22, 1896, at Athens, Greece, in
Berlin, Germany, and in America at any College that a candidate
may select of the institutions which co-operate in support of the
School. The examination will continue during three hours in the
morning, and two in the afternoon of each day.
Each candidate must announce his intention to offer himself for
examination. This announcement must be made to the Chairman of
the Committee on Fellowships, Professor John Williams White,
Cambridge, Mass., and must be in his hands no later than April 1,
1896. Its receipt will be acknowledged, and the candidate will
receive a blank to be filled out and handed in by him at the time of
the examination, in which he will give information in r^ard to his
studies and attainments. A copy of this blank may be obtained at
any time by application to the Chairman of the Committee on
Fellowships.
Candidates are referred to the Regulations of the Managing Com-
mittee for the requirements which must be fulfilled by the Fellows
of the School.
The award will be made as soon after the examination as prac-
ticable. Fellows of the School are advised to spend the summer
preceding their year at Athens in study in the Museums of Northern
Europe.
The examination will cover the subjects named below. The num-
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526 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
ber of hours during which the examination in each subject will con-
tinue is stated just after the title of the course. The examiners are
aware that some candidates will not have access to large libraries.
They have, therefore, specified under each subject the books which
they think the candidate could use to the best advantage. The
examination will be based on the books specially named. Other
books are recommended for supplementary reading and reference.
For additional titles, candidates are referred to the " List of Books
Recommended," which is published annually in the Report of the
Managing Committee. In this list will be found the full title of each
book named below, its price, and the name of its publisher.
The examiners are aware also that many candidates will not have
easy access to collections in Museums. They nevertheless urge that
each candidate should strive to make his study of the special subjects
in Greek Archaeology named below as largely objective as possible,
by the careful inspection and comparison of monuments of Greek art,
in originals if possible, otherwise in casts, models, electrotypes, photo-
graphs, and engravings.
Modern Greek. — An introduction to the study of the language.
One hour,
Vincent and Dickson, Handbook to Modern Greek; and either
Rangab6, Practical Method in the Modern Greek Language, or Mrs.
Gardner, Practical Modern Greek Grammar. Constantinides, Neo-
Hellenica ; and Jannaris, Wie spricht man in Athen f
The examination will test not only the candidate's ability to trans-
late the literary language into English, but also his knowledge of the
common words and idioms of the every-day language of the people.
The Elements of Greek Epigraphy. Two hours.
Roberts, Introduction to Greek Epigraphy ; and Dittenberger, Sylloge
Inscriptionum Grascarum.
Supplementary : Newton, On Greek Inscriptions, in his Essays on
Art and Archaeology.
Reference: Kirchhoff, Geschichte des griechischen Alphabets; Larfeld,
Griechische Epigraphik, in von Miiiler's Handbuch der Kkmischen
Atlertumsivissenschaft, I.; Reinach, Traite d' Epigraphie grerque; Hicks,
Manual of Greek Historical Inscriptions; and the Curpus Inscriptionum
Atticarum.
Introduction to Greek Archaeology. An outline of the origin
of Greek art, and the elementary study of Greek architecture, sculp-
ture, and vases, with some attention to terracottas, numismatics,
glyptics, bronzes, and jewels. Two hours.
Collignon, Manuel oV Archeologie grecque, translated by Wright, Manual
of Greek Archaeology ; and Murray, Handbook of Greek Archseology.
Supplementary : Miiller, Ancient Art and its Remains.
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[Grkkcb] archjeoloqical NEWS. 527
Reference: The works cited by Collignon and Wright ; Sittl, Archii-
ologie der Kumt, in von Muller's Handbuch, VI. ; and the appropriate
articles in Baumeister, Denkmaler des klassischen Alterthums, under
" II. Kunstgeschichte," in the Systematisches Verzeichniss at the end of
the work.
Grkek Architectire, Sculpture and Vases. Three hours.
A. The Principles of Greek Architecture, with special study of the
structure of the Erechtheion.
Durm, Baukunst der Griechen, in his Handbuch der Archilektur, II. 1;
and Fowler, The Erechtheion at Athene, in Papers of (he American School
at Athens, I.
Reference: Reber, Geschichte der Baukunst im Alterthum ; Lubke,
Geschichte der Architektur. For the Erechtheion, sec the bibliography
in Fowler's article, and the article Erechtheion in Baumeister, Denk-
maler.
B. The History of Greek Sculpture, with special study of the still ex-
tant sculptures of the Parthenon.
Mrs Mitchell, History of Ancient Sculpture; Overbeck, Die Antiken
Schriftquellen, Nos. 618-1041 and 1187 1640; and Michaelis, Der
Parthenon.
Reference: Overbeck, Geschichte der Griech'isch en Plastik ; Collignon,
Histoire de la Sculpture grecque; Furtwaengler, Masterpieces of Greek
Sculpture; and Friederiehs-Wolters, GipmbgYtsse antiker Biklwerke.
For the sculptures of the Parthenon, Smith, Catalogue of Sculpture,
British Museum, I., with the series of photographs of the Parthenon
sculptures published by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic
Company.
C. Introduction to the Study of Greek Vases. Von Rohden, Vasen-
kunde, in Baumeister, Denkmiiler ; and Robinson's Introduction to
the Catalogue of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Vases, in the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts.
Reference: Rayet et Collignon, Hhtoire de la Ceratnique grecque.
Pausanias and the Monuments and Topcx;raphy of Ancient
Athens. Two hours.
Pausanias, Book I. Lolling, Topographic von Athen, in von Mfiller
Handbuch, III., Milchhofer, Athen, in Baumeister, Denkmiiler; and
Milchhofer, Schriftquellcn zur Topographie von Athen, in Curtius, Stadt-
geschichte von Athen, pp. ixv-xciii, E-G.
Supplementary : Miss Harrison, Mythology and Monuments of Ancient
Athens.
Reference : Curtius, Stadtgeschichte von Athen ; Wachsinuth, Die
Stadt Athen im Alterthum; and Jahn-Michaelis, Pausaniae Descriptio
Arcis A thenar um.
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528 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.]
THE GERMAN SCHOOL AT ATHENS.— At the January meeting Mr. S.
Lampros explained the topography pf ancient Pherai according to the
plan of Velestinos published by Rega in 1797, and his own observa-
tions recently made upon the place. The ancient city lay around the
spring Hypereia (a stream most dear to the gods according to Sopho-
kles) even to-day still assuming the form of a shallow lake, 40 metres
long and wide, but extending more toward the Turkish settlement
The Christian settlement, deserted long ago, presents close at hand a
plain for archaeological researches upon the basis of the plan of Rega.
Those called by Rega " spetia of the kings " are walls 80 metres long
and preserved to a height of two or three metres. The fortresses of
the city were directed against the cities which were rivals of the tyrants
of Pherai, Larisa and Kranon, and in front of them the bed of the tor-
rent forms a kind of ditch.
Dr. Doerpfeld spoke in reference to the d ernes in ancient Athens
and the country around. It is well known that in connection with
the ten tribes there were in the city and around it the following demes
in regular order :
% 'Aypvkrj MA (dc) across the Ilissos, belonging to the first or Erech-
theid tribe.
f) Atd/xcta, belonging to the second or Aigeid tribe. The deme t<Z>v
KvSaOrfvaUwv near the Akropolis, belonging to the third tribe, the
Pandionid.
o! 2Ka/A/?a>vi8ai, where many foreigners dwelt, belonging to the fourth
tribe, the Leontid.
6 Kcpa/LtctKo?, belonging to the fifth tribe, the Akamantid.
o! PovrdScu, near the Sacred Way, belonging to the sixth tribe, the
Oineid.
f) McAiViy (upon the Pnyx and the Kolonos pertaining to the Agora),
belonging to the seventh tribe, the Kekropid.
rj KoCkrj (#cal 6 ITcipaicvs) westward of the Akropolis, belonging to the
eighth tribe, the Hippothontid.
to <f>d\rjpov (for about half of its extent somewhere near the present
railway (tram) leading to it), belonging to the ninth tribe, the Aiantid.
Finally rj •AAwttcki?, belonging to the tenth tribe, the Antiochid. In
reference to the position of the other demes the accounts agree except
some ambiguity in regard to the Skambonidai. The Alopeke com-
monly placed at the modern Ampelokepoi it is necessary to change to
the south of the city. Already Mr. Andreas Skias, starting from the
well known passage in the beginning of the Axiochos of Plato, has
placed the Kynosarges more toward the llisos.
Dr. Doerpfeld reviewing the evidence of recent discoveries finds
that the Alopeke, * distant from the walls eleven or twelve stadia,'
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[Grkkce.] archaeological NEWS. 529
according to Aischines lay near the Kynosarges and wholly in the
direction of the Ilissos, southward of Athens upon the little hills upon
the last of which stands the now deserted windmill, along the road to
Koutsopodi. Thus only is it possible to explain the turning back of
the soldiers from the plain of Marathon and their formation on a line
where they could see the Persians threatening a disembarking at
Phaleron, as also the position of the tomb of Anchimolos and the
remaining things pertaining to the Kynosarges and the Alopeke. —
Hestia, Feb. 19.
REPORT OF THE GERMAN INSTITUTE.— The Arch. Anzeiger, 1895, pp.
89-94, contains a report of the activity of the k. d. Arch. Inst, for the
year 1894-95. This records the progress of the numerous publications
of the Institute, the meetings and excursions of the Roman and
Athenian divisions, the loss of old and election of new members. The
same number, pp. 136-138, contains news of the Institute giving more
details of the latest doings.
ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BERLIN.— The Arch. Anzeiger, 1895, pp.
102-126, contains reports of the meetings of the Archaeological Society
in Berlin. Similar reports are contained in the Berl. Philol. Wochenschr.
and elsewhere. February. Dahm spoke of weapons found in the
Limes-excavations, and described the changes in the Roman pilum
from the fourth century b c. to the fourth century of our era. A dis-
cussion by G. Sixt of an Epona-relief of the Stuttgart lapidarium was
read (cut). Conze spoke briefly of the fragment of an alabaster vase
from Naukratis (Arch. Am., 1894, p. 74). Schaffer described the an-
cient city at Boghaskoi in Asia Minor, identified with Pteria. Puch-
stein spoke of the altar at Olympia. March. Kekule* read a letter
from Count Prokesch showing that the " Plato-relief " suspected by
Prof. Robert was found by his father near Athens on the road toward
Eleusis. Adler discussed the altar at Olympia.' A paper by Curtius
was read on Athens and Delphi, discussing two Delphic inscriptions
(Bull de corr. hell., 1894, p. 87 and 91 ff.). Belger spoke on the
Enneakrunos problem and the latest attempts at its solution, main-
taining that the Enneakrunos was where the modern Kallirhoe is,
near the Olympieion. Kern exhibited Hermann's plan of Magnesia,
and spoke of the excavations there. April. Koepp spoke of J. A.
Evans' discovery of two systems of writing in the " Mykensean period."
Assmann spoke on the question " To what nation the ships on the
Dipylon- vases belong," deciding in favor of the Phoenicians. Curtius
spoke on fragments of a polychrome Attic lekythos ( Jahrb., 1895, pi. 2,
p. 86 ff). Brueckner spoke of the prehistoric architectural monu-
ments preserved on the island Gha in lake Kopa'is. Curtius objected
to the name Avne given by Noack to the city on Gha. May. Herrlich
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530 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Greece.]
spoke of new discoveries at Pompeii (illustration of painting represent-
ing the death of Dirke). Winter spoke of Relations between Terra-
cottas and paintings (2 cuts) showing that terracottas sometimes
represent figures and even whole groups from paintings. Koepp
spoke of the Great Battle-monument at Pergamon.
ARCH/EOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES IN 1894.— The Arch. Anzeiger, 1895,
pp. 94-100, contains a review of the more important Archaeological Dis-
coveries in the Year 1894. As the Journal has attempted to give this
news in another form, it suffices to call attention to this review, add-
ing that cuts are given (after Homolle, in Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1895)
of a metope from the treasure-house of the Athenians and two pieces
of frieze from the treasury of the Siphnians at Delphi.
ARCHv€OLOGICAL COURSES IN GERMANY.--The A rch Anzeiger, 1895t
pp. 134-135, gives a report of archaeological courses in connection with
gymnasir* in Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Bonn, Trier, and Innsbruck.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF GREEK ARCH/EOLOGICAL SUBJECTS.— The Arch*-
ologischer Anzeiger (1895, pp. 55-(>9), contains a list of photographs
for sale by the German Institute in Athens.
BERLIN MUSEUM ACQUISITIONS-— In the Arch. Anzeiger, 1895, pp.
126-134, A. Furtwangler continues his report of acquisitions of the
Berlin Antiquarium. Seventy-one terracottas (11 cuts), nine entries
(some of several pieces) under " precious metals and gems," and
seven entries under " miscellaneous '' are described. The greater
number of terracottas are Oreek from early date to the third century
b. c. Nearly all the terracottas from Italy are reliefs.
AMPHORA FROM MELOS.— In the Kph. Arch., 1894, pp. 225-23&r
K. 1). Mylonas discusses a Terracotta Amphora from Melon (pis. 12, 13,
14). This is a Melian amphora 1.025 M. in height, now in the
National Museum in Athens. There is much geometrical ornament
with oriental forms, as is usual in vases of this class. The ground is
yellow. The colors used are browns, black, and violet. The neck is
divided into four panels. In one is Hermes, with wings on his feet*
standing opposite a richly dressed woman The opposite panel is
filled with an ornament of volutes and palmettes. Between these
panels are smaller panels each with a sphinx between squares
of checkerboard patterns. On one side of the main body of the vase
are two riderless horses facing each other. On the opposite side
Herakles is carrying off a woman in a four-horse chariot. Besides
the horses stands a woman, and behind the chariot a man. The
scene is interpreted as Herakles carrying off Iole, though the represen-
tation disagrees with the accounts of Hyginus and Apoilodorus. Be-
tween these two panels is a pair of eyes over which are the handles
curved as eyebrows, and below a palmette and volute.
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[Greece] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 581
GREEK VASE BY PHINTIAS. — In the Jahrbuch d. k. d. Arch. Inst., 1895,
pp. 108-113, F. Hauser discusses A Greek Wine-cooler in the Bourguig-
non Collection (Ant. Denkm. II, pi. 20, Klein, Lieblingmamen, p. 65 No.
4,Hartwig, Jahrb., 1892, p. 157). The scene is in the palaestra. Epheboi
and their teachers are represented. Among the names of the epheboi
are Phayllos, Sostratos, and Philon, while a teacher is Eudemos.
These names show that the vase is of the time of Euthymides, but the
style is more advanced than his. Comparison with the stamnos,
Jimrn. of Hell. Stud., 1891, pi. 22 (Hartwig, Melderschalen, p. 185) shows
that the artist of the Bourguignon vase is Phintias.
LEKYTHOS IN THE BERLIN MUSEUM.— In the Jahrb. d. k. d. Arch. Inst.
(1895, pp. 86-91), E. Curtius publishes Fragments of a Polychrome
Lekythos in the Berlin Museum (pi. 2 ; cut). The fragment represents
the upper part of a grave-stele. Before the stele sits a woman, no
doubt the deceased At the right stands a youth, at the left a woman.
As an akroterion at the top of the stele is a group of Thanatos (bearded)
and Hyknos bearing a female form between them. Twisted volutes
serve as a partial background for this group. The publication is ac-
companied by observations on the history of the development of the
lekythos and of the akroterion.
THE HOMERIC ILION.— In the Eph. Arch., 1894, pp. 237-242, G.
Nikolaides publishes a Supplementary Note on the Homeric Ilion,
in which he maintains his previous (Eph. Arch., 1894, Nos. 2 and 3),
opinion that Bunarbaschi, not Hissarlik, is the site of Troy. He is
confirmed in this belief by Dr. G. Autenrieth,.who suggests that the
lower part of the well-known silver relief from Mykenai, representing
fragments of three boats and an oarsman, shows that the scene is the
banks of the Skamander.
AETOLIA. — At the close of last year the papers announced the dis-
covery of a bronze helmet, which deserves mention on account of the
locality where it was found, a spot about six miles north of the village
of Krikella, in Eurytaria, in a row of heights which, on account of
the quantity of human bones strewn about, is called by the modern
Greeks Kokkalia. It is believed to be the place where in 279 b. c.
40,000 Gauls under Combutis and Orestorius were defeated by the
iEtolians, and more than half of them killed. After his unsuccessful
fight at Thermopylae, Brennus ordered these two leaders to push
through Thessaly into iEtolia in order to force the iEtolians, who
were fighting at Thermopylae in the ranks of the united Greek armies,
to return to the defence of their, homes. Combutis and Orestorius
first fell upon the town of Callium and destroyed it, butchering the
inhabitants in inhuman fashion. A pitched battle in which they
suffered the terrible loss of which Pausanias speaks is not, however,
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532 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Grkkck]
mentioned by that writer; it is rather to he inferred from his des-
cription that the great losses of the Gauls at the hands of the /Etolians
and their women were incurred on the line of march from Gallium
into the interior of iEtolia. At any rate, it would be desirable that
the legend of an encounter at Krikella, on the heights of Kokkalia,
should be scientifically examined. — Athm.} Aug. 3.
ATHENS. — The Parthenon.— I have already informed the readers of
the Athenaeum that, in consequence of the severe shocks of earthquake
which were felt in Greece in the spring of last year, several of the
ancient and mediaeval monuments sustained injuries which seem to
demand serious attention. This was especially the case with the
Parthenon. A committee was accordingly appointed by the Ministry
of Education to make a careful inspection of this venerable monu-
ment, and report on the gravity of the injuries and the means of repair-
ing them. After a long delay, occupied by the erection of the required
scaffoldings, and debates, which absorbed nearly as much time, in the
sub-committee to which the matter was more expressly entrusted, no
conclusion was reached. Ernst Ziller, an architect resident at Athens,
distinguished for the excavation of the Panathenaic Stadion in the
year 1870, and various other studies in architectural archaeology, could
not agree with his colleagues about the mode in which the injuries
sustained could be repaired and future dangers averted. In his min-
ority report, which appeared at the end of November last year, he
begins with an historical survey of the injuries sustained by the great
monument in previous centuries and down to our own day. The
worst of all were those inflicted during the siege of the Akropolis by
Morosini in the year 1687. In Ziller's view last year's earthquakes
did no damage to the Parthenon. Only fragments which had lost their
equilibrium, or broken bits of architecture which had long been hang-
ing loose, were shaken from their insecure position and thrown to the
ground. Some of these fallen pieces measure a metre and more in*
length. But the earthquake is not the sole cause of these falls. Herr
Ziller maintains that in the last thirty-four years he has had the op-
portunity of observing the fall of similar broken blocks, or even whole
tablets of stone, after violent rains or severe frost. These loose pieces
are in reality only dangerous for visitors to the Parthenon, since some
of them weigh two hundred kilos and even more. As regards any real
danger to the building itself due to such destruction of its parts, Ziller
thinks there are very few injuries of sufficient importance to cause it
All the same all the damaged parts must either be consolidated or
entirely removed.
After a survey and criticism of the repairs previously undertaken-
both in ancient times and in the present century, he proceeds to his
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[Grkrck.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 533
conclusions. In his opinion no reconstruction is necessary for ensur-
ing the security of the Parthenon. He strongly objects to any com-
bination of new and old. He does not therefore suggest the construction
of new architraves, capitals, shafts, <fec. : " We desire to see the an-
tiquities before us in their purity and without modern patchwork " —
as few fresh additions as possible. Our aim ought only to be preserva-
tion, and this must be attained by cement. He recommends as the
best kind the stone cement manufactured by Friedrich Mayer at
Freiburg. Ziller believes that a process of cementing, both for joining
and filling up gaps, with the appropriate use of these methods in each
individual case, would attain the end of preserving the building. The
greatest care would be required by the architrave of the Opisthodomos
between the third and fourth columns, which has sustained the gravest
injuries; and this might also be repaired by means of cementing and
by vertical iron bars.
Zilier's report was apparently drawn up in a spirit of opposition to
the opinion expressed by the majority of the sub-committee, and laid
before the Ministry. This majority, which included Prof. Wilhelm
Doerpfeld and Anastasios Theophilos, Director of the Polytechnic,
devoted their attention in the first place to the above-mentioned archi-
trave, and in the second to the other injured portions of the Parthenon.
The architrave appears to be in the most dangerous condition. Of its
three blocks the outer one, on the east, proved to be completely broken ;
it is only kept in its place by the support its angles receive from the
capital and the frieze between which it is situated ; the middle block
is also broken, and remains in a vaulted shape, but it might be saved
by efficient supports ; only the outer block on the west, over which
come the reliefs, is intact. To make matters worse, the support of the
architrave is very weak, for it rests on the capital of the third column,
which is likewise broken, and needs repair. Accordingly, no technical
means can preserve the architrave; and even were there any such
possibility, the repairs would not be lasting, and the preservation
would be of short duration. On this account the majority of the com-
mittee came to the following conclusions : (1) The broken block of
the architrave must be removed ; (2) the middle block must be sup-
ported by vertical iron bars; (3) the broken portion of the capital of
the third column must be replaced by a new symmetrical piece of
marble; (4) the part of the architrave removed must be replaced by a
new roughly shaped block of marble. The sub-committee did not
confine itself to indicating the works that would be required for the
security of the damaged architrave, but also described the mode in
which these must be carried out. As regards the other injuries, it was
proposed that, on account of their varied nature, the same person who
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534 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Grkkck.]
should receive the commission to repair the architrave should also be
empowered, in conjunction with the General Ephoralty of Antiquities,
to examine and gradually remedy the various other injuries sustained
by the building.
Thus far the two reports, that of the majority and that of Herr Zil-
ler. This difference of opinion, and the great responsibility connected
with so important — nay, even international— a question, induced the
Greek Government to summon a specialist to Athens, who, as architect
and archaeologist combined, might consider the matter with unim-
peachable authority. For this end Prof. Julius Durm was summoned
from Karlsruhe. Durm devoted the greatest enthusiasm to the inves-
tigation, and, after a careful study of the damage sustained by the
Parthenon, has embodied his conclusions in a long report, which has
been submitted to the ministry of Education. The report itself is to
be published in German in Germany, and a Greek translation by Dr.
Georg Sotiriades will shortly appear here in the Ephemeris, but, as far
as can be judged from the accounts of it already to hand, Durm is
entirely opposed to cementing, and has but a poor opinion of Mayer's
stone cement. The character of the Pathenon, as of all other monu-
ments of antiquity, must undoubtedly, in his opinion, remain un-
touched; but still the architrave, which is threatened with destruction,
must be completely restored. It is not necessary to use new marble
for this purpose, though even this step need not be absolutely con-
demned, since the iron ingredients of the Pentelic marble would soon
assimilate the colour of the new piece to the old. It is not necessary,
however, to go this length, for there is a sufficiency of old material
lying round the Parthenon to supply the marble required for replac-
ing the damaged part of the architrave in the Opisthodomos. But
this is by no means the only piece of work required in the Parthenon.
Durm directed his attention to the walls of the cella as well as the
columns and capitals, and carefully noted everything which required
repair. It is of the first importance to guard against the destructive
effects of rain and the vegetation growing in the midst of the ruins.
His report consists of three parts. In the first he describes with great
accuracy and lucidity the injuries observed in the whole building, and
these are represented to the eye by appended sketches of the damaged
parts. In the second he discusses the consequences which may ensue
sooner or later, if the neglect of the monument should continue. In
the third he expresses his views as to the means required to avert a
danger which may be imminent. Of especial importance is the im-
mediate substitution of two fresh pieces, on the Opisthodomos and on
the south side. Since this requires the greatest skill and care, he
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[Greece] ARCH JEO LOGICAL NEWS. 535
indicates most minutely the mode in which the work may be under-
taken with safety, and appends the necessary diagrams.
Herr Durm has not confined his attention to the Parthenon alone,
but has examined all the antiquities on the Akropolis, and even the
so-called Temple of Theseus, and supplies the required information
about each. Especially interesting are his counsels, given in answer
to inquiries, as to the examination of the material lying about the
Erechtheion. The point at issue was whether the northern prostasis
of the temple could be reconstructed from these ancient materials, as
had been done in 1838 for the upper part of the north and south walls.
Durm's opinion is that this reconstruction is quite feasible, and that
the expense would be about 56,000 drachmas; and this satisfactory
reply encourages the hope that a rich Greek may take this expense on
himself. The sums required for the Temple of Theseus are not con-
siderable ; but Durm thinks it may be possible in the future to revive
the antique character of this temple by removing the Byzantine addi-
tions, and restoring the antique roofing. As regards the other monu-
ments, neither the Stoa of Hadrian, nor the Roman Agora, nor the
monument of Lysikrates will necessitate any expense; the repairs
needed at the Agora gate and the monument of Philopappos are incon-
siderable.
As may be seen from the above, Durm distinguishes sharply between
urgent and not urgent, necessary and desirable, what must be done
and what might be done. It was due, therefore, to a pure misunder-
standing that the sum of a million francs was at first named as the
amount required by him for the restorations. The sum really neces-
sary is 200,000 francs for the Parthenon, but even this is not all
required at once; 100,000 drachmas, i. e., about a quarter of this sum,
is sufficient to avert the danger, and carry out the most urgent works.
The rest is required for the complete restoration and decoration of the
Parthenon, and can be executed gradually and in the future.
Since the present condition of its finances does not permit the State
to disburse this sum itself, the Society of Archaeology has undertaken
to supply the funds. In order to obtain a more abundant supply, it
has procured permission, by means of a royal decree, to transform the
lottery which the law permits it to hold, and which at present brings
in a yearly income of 100,000 drachmas, from a yearly to a quarterly
one.
One other point must be decided before the works can be begun.
Durm has suggested that workmen should in the first instance be
brought over from Germany or Italy. At first this led to much dis-
cussion here. Some thought the works could quite well be carried
through by native workmen. Now, however, there seems no more
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586 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOQY. [G
opposition to the introduction of foreign workmen, but the General
Ephoralty of Antiquities appears inclined to call in more Italians than
Germans.
Matters stood thus on the arrival from Paris on the 2nd of April of
Lucien Magne, the architect who had already examined the Parthenon
last year, and since then had publicly expressed his views in Paris as
to the mode in which the repairs could be carried out. Magne is a
very competent authority, being a member of the Committee for the
Preservation of Historic Monuments in France, and he has himself
auperintended the restoration of various buildings — among them the
church of Montmorency. Immediately on his arrival at Athens he
expressed his views at a meeting of the French Archaeological Institute
held on April 3rd, and demonstrated them by means of a little wooden
model of part of the Parthenon constructed for the purpose.
Magne showed how the great architect, by the system which he
employed for binding together the stones, attained a perfectly solid
consistency in the building. But owing to the bombs during the siege
by the Venetians and the explosion of the powder magazine, cracks
ensued which allowed a passage to the rain-water ; in consequence the
Pentelic marble split at certain places, and the consistency of the
whole was weakened. In Magne's opinion there can be no question
of stone-cementing or any similar process of restoration. The method
of repair must be a double one. The small loose stones might be
riveted together with lead by small iron or copper hooks {agrafes).
The treatment of the larger portions of the building gives rise to greater
difficulties, such as the shafts of the columns, the single blocks of the
architrave and cornice. The difficulty is chiefly due to the manner
in which the stones of the Parthenon were held together by the
ancients. The blocks are connected with those next to them by hori-
zontal brackets in the shape of a double T, but also with those above
them by vertical brackets, which are fastened with lead in the lower
block only, but left unfastened in the upper one. Now in order to
remove a block from the architrave to replace it by another it is nec-
essary, after breaking through the horizontal brackets, also to raise the
block of the cornice above, with which the stone that has to be removed
is connected by vertical brackets. In consequence of this difficulty
especial precautions and a peculiar mode of treatment are necessaryr
as shown by Magne on his model. It is of special importance to con-
struct a particular kind of scaffolding for this purpose. It should be
of wood, not iron, and have a double flooring. One floor must be
placed below the block to be removed, and the other below the one
above it. First of all the upper block in the cornice or frieze must be
raised and placed on the upper flooring of the scaffolding; not till the
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broken block below it, for which the lower floor of the scaffolding is
wanted, has been removed and replaced, can the upper block be
replaced in its former position. Shafts and other architectural pieces
can also be safely replaced in a similar fashion. According to Magne,
there are three or four pieces of the Parthenon, besides the architrave
of the Opisthodomos, to which allusion has been so often made, that
ought to be replaced in this manner. The most important is the
northern angle of the sima of the western cornice, and, in fact, all the
mutuli of the cornice are insecure, since some of the supports are want-
ing which should secure the equilibrium and consistency of this, the
most boldly projecting portion of the building. If the corner pieces of
the sima should fall, the whole western cornice, one of the most pic-
turesque and characteristic parts of the Parthenon, would be endan-
gered.
As to the workmen, Magne considers that it would be quite possible
to depend on native work only. Magne will lay his report as to the
means of securing the Parthenon before the Greek Ministry of Educa-
tion on behalf of the French Government; but his studies in the mat-
ter, with the illustrations, will be published by the Department of
Fine Arts at Paris in an Edition de luxe.
This is the present state of a question in which the whole civilized
world cannot fail to be interested. — Spyr. P. Lambros, At?ieny&ej>. 28.
THE PARTHENON.— The first number of the Eph. Arch, for 1895
(pp. 1-58), is entirely devoted to Professor Dunn's report on the con-
dition of the Parthenon and other ancient monuments in Athens.
The report is illustrated by five plates and seventeen cuts in the text
The Arch. Anzeiger, 1895, pp. 100-102, contained an account by Dr.
Josef Dunn of the injuries done to the Parthenon by earthquake in
1894, with recommendations for its restoration and preservation. A
more complete and official statement of Dr. Dunn's views is contained
in his Gutachten, Ernst und Sohn, Berlin, also Centralblatl der Bau-
verwaltung, 1895, No. 19-21 and 23 A.
PARTHENON METOPES. —In the Eph. Arch.} 1894, pp. 213-226, W.
Malmberg writes of The Metopes of the Parthenon (Pis. 10, 11). Of two
fragments in the British Museum one has been shown by Schwerzek
(Journ. Hell. Stud, xm, p. 89) to belong to the boy P of the western
pediment; the other belongs to Metope xvi (Michaelis) of the south
side. Fragment No. 714 in the Akropolis Museum belongs, as
Michaelis saw, to Metope xxrv. Sauer (Festschr.f. Johannes Overbeck,
p. 73 ff.) has added a fragment to Metope xix. To Metope xi belong
fragments published pi. 10, 1, 2, 3, parts of shield and arms of a
Lapith, and the rear part of a centaur. This metope represented a
lively combat The fragment pi. 10, 5, is the upper part of the
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female figure of metope xxi. Michaelis' fragment N belongs to
metope xvn ; M probably not to metope xvi, and P certainly not
to metope xxiu. On the north side, no battle of centaurs was
represented. The northern metopes ii-xxvm form a series, first
farewell scenes, then the Trojan war, then the sack of Troy. A num-
ber of fragments is ascribed to these metopes. Fragment P represents
a man holding a horse. Metope xxix represents Selene. In regard
to the eastern metopes, the writer corrects in slight details the views
of Michael is and Robert. The western metopes probably represented
a battle of Amazons, but this is not certain. Doerpfeld's suggestion
(Mitth. Ath. 1892, p. 173) more positively stated by Robert (Die Iliu-
yersis des Polygnot, p. 61) that some of the metopes of the Parthenon
may have been made for Kimon's building, cannot be correct, for the
Parthenon metopes are evidently later than those of the temple
at Olympia, i. c, later than 460 b. c. The metopes with scenes from
the sack of Troy (e. g., Mich, xxiv and xxv) show the influence of a
painter, very likely Polygnotos.
In the Jahrbuch d. k. deut. Arch. IiwL, 1895, pp. 93-107, E. Pernice
writes On the Middle Metopes of the South Side of the Parthenon (pi. 3).
Metopes xin-xxi (Michaelis) represent the myth of Erichthonios. In
xiv Aglauros has opend the cista and Erysichthon starts back in
terror, xm represents Herse and Pandrosos. xv and xvi represent
the overthrow of Amphiktyon by Erichthonios, xvn-xxi represent
the erection of the (oavov and the founding of the Panathenaic
festival.
THEATRE OF DIONYSOS. — The excavations under Dr. Doerpfeld at
the theatre of Dionysos have contributed in no small degree to throw
light on the history of the construction of the theatre ; for it has been
proved that the floor of the parodoi was upon the same level as the
ancient orchestra, and from certain indications it is possible to recon-
struct the constructions of the time of the orator Lykourgos. The
stylobate of the proscenium, which was built after the age of
Alexander, has been brought to light. Before this time the pro-
scenium was movable, and not stationary as since the Alexandrian
epoch. Behind this proscenium, however, are visible the foundations
of the stage of the theatre built by Lykourgos, the front of which Dr.
Doerpfeld thinks was adorned with eighteen columns, and the height
of which was four metres. Even the front view of the parascenium
was decorated on each side with six columns. At the bottom of the
theatre was discovered, in the foundations of the Pheedrus stair, a
marble torso ; and on the eastern parascenium, under the surface of
the Roman constructions, was unearthed an inscription in which
occurred the names of two artists hitherto unknown. Beneath the
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orchestra underground passages were met with, which the newspapers
hastened to identify with the Charonic steps mentioned by Julius
Pollux. Dr. Doerpfeld, however, has shown that this idea is unten-
able. It is also an interesting feature that these passages lead directly
to the centre of the orchestra, which Dr. Doerpfeld, it is well known,
has for some years past maintained, formed in the golden age of
Attic tragedy the stage. Now Charonic steps were not required, in
the theatre of Dionysos in ancient, time, for the appearance on the
stage of personages who came from the lower regions, because origin-
ally the ground on the southern half of the orchestra was lower than
the northern, since the rock sloped away. — Athen., July 20.
THE ODEION OFAGRIPPA. — Excavations are being carried on under
the direction of the Director of the German School, Dr. Doerpfeld, in
the space between the Areiopagos and the ancient Dionyseion or the
so-called Linaion. He was led to make excavations at this point
because Pausanias refers to this vicinity as the site of the ancient
theatre called by other writers the Odeion of Agrippa. Nothing has
as get been found to attest the accuracy of Pausanias. — Atlantis,
April 6.
OLYMPIC GAMES IN 1896. — If the Greek newspapers do not exag-
gerate, the revival of the Olympic games next spring will be upon an
imposing scale. The international sports, as already announced, will
take place in the ancient Stadion, which will be rebuilt for the pur-
pose at an expenditure of 500,000 drachmas, wholly subscribed by
M. Averoff, a wealthy Greek in Alexandria. It is to accommodate
100,000 people. The boat-races will be rowed between Old and New
Phaleron, the harbor of Munychia being used as a shelter in rough
weather. It is expected that more than 200 boats will take part in
these contests. For the running it is proposed to adopt the historic
run to Marathon. Invitations have been forwarded to 2,000 different
athletic clubs in all parts of the world, and 300 have already agreed to
send representatives. At night the Stadion will be lighted by elec-
tricity, and native dances will be performed. The Akropolis and the
other ancient monuments will also be illuminated. More than 100,000
visitors are expected to visit Athens from the provinces and abroad,
and the executive committee are anxiously considering the best means
for the accommodation of this influx. Greeks at home and abroad
are taking the keenest interest in this national undertaking, and large
sums of money have already been forwarded from London and Alex-
andria. Nearly 200,000 drachmas have been collected in England.
The preparations are now in full swing, especially in the Stadion,
which is by far the heaviest part of the work, and which, covered with
huge blocks of marble and resounding with the strokes of hundreds of
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chisels, presents a striking contrast to the peaceful solitude which has.
for years and centuries reigned over its grassy slopes. This scene of
the ancient Panathenaean games is an artificial enlargement of a natural
hollow between two of the lowest spurs of Mt. Hymettos. It is turned
towards the city, and from its entrance (by the " whispering " Ilissos)
a magnificent panorama is obtained from Lykabettos and the Palace
Gardens on the right to the Akropolis and distant Salamis on the left.
Its embanked sides slope up to a height of 60 to 80 feet around a level
•pace 670 feet long by 109 feet wide, in the form of a horseshoe fas
ihas been ascertained by recent excavations).
Of course it will not be possible to finish the entire Stadion in mar-
ble by next March. Only the circular end, in its entire height, and
the three lowest tiers along the sides will be done in marble; the
remaining rows of the sides will be executed in wood and painted in
imitation of marble, but will be replaced gradually by marble rows.
M. Averoff has signified his intention of having this magnificent arena,
which is capable of seating 70,000 spectators, finished entirely in
Pentelic marble at his own expense, as a permanent field for athletic
contests ; and certainly Athens will regain through his patriotic liber-
ality one of her most glorious and unique monuments, useful as well
as ornamental.
In the Stadion, thus restored and provided with a fine-running track,
the field sports, foot races, and gymnastic contests will be held ; here
also will be the finish of the twenty-six-mile long-distance race from
Marathon to Athens, for which a special amphora or cup will be offered,
in memory of the plucky runner of old who died to bring to Athena
the news of the rout of the Persians. The bicycle races will be held
on grounds specially laid out for the occasion, half-way between the
city and the seashore, on the Phaleric plain. The aquatic sports —
swimming and rowing — are to take place in the roadstead of Phaleron,
while the Saronic Gulf, locked in by islands, will form an unexcelled
sailing ground for the yacht regatta, which promises to be unusually
brilliant.
These are the chief items on the programme of the games proper.
But as the Olympic festivals of yore were not confined to athletic con-
tests, so the visitors who will crowd to Athens next April will find an
abundance of interesting features of the celebration entirely outside of
the aforesaid programme. To pass over the numerous official and
semi-official banquets which will be given to athletes, delegates, foreign
squadrons, and potentates, the city of Athens is organizing various
special events for the entertainment of its guests, which will doubtless
give the entire celebration a character long to be remembered. Among
fhese.$pecial features will be, for instance, the artistic illumination of
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the great monuments of antiquity by night, a grand historical torch-
light procession, representing memorable scenes from Greek history,
ancient and modern, and a series of gala representations of the dramatic
master-pieces of the world, beginning with a Sophoklean tragedy and
ending with Wagner's u Lohengrin." A special Olympic Hymn, com-
posed for the occasion by the modern Greek composer Samaras, is to
be rendered by a monster chorus and orchestra; and a commemora-
tive medal is to be struck and distributed. The French Archaeological
School at Athens is to celebrate its jubilee at the same time, and a
large international gathering of savants is expected to attend ; the
American School of Classical Studies, the German Archaeological In-
stitute, and the British School will also hold special public meetings
during the festivities. Last, but not least, the inauguration of the
games on April 6 will coincide with the seventy-fifth anniversary of
the Declaration of Greek Independence, and thousands of enthusiastic
visitors and delegates are expected from the five or six millions of
Greeks living yet under Turkish rule, and from the numerous and
wealthy Greek colonies all over the world, to take part in commem-
orating the day. If one adds the numerous English, American, French,
Italian, Hungarian, Swedish, Russian, and Belgian athletic organiza-
tions, the great British and French yacht clubs, and the Turkish
wrestlers and State College athletes, that have already promised to
send their champions to the meeting, the vast concourse which will be
assembled in the new Panathena:c Stadion will form the most pic-
turesque medley of tongues, races, and costumes ever seen in the violet-
crowned city of Theseus.
The interest displayed by the American people in this Athenian
meeting, the promised participation of so many American athletes,
and the formation of an American committee in behalf of the project,
under President Cleveland's chairmanship, have aroused lively satis-
factionin Greek circles. — N. Y. Evening Post, Aug. 15 and Sept.
THE REFITTING OF THE STADION.— The remodeling of the Stadion
iB being done by the architect, Ernst Tsiller, on the basis of the ex-
cavations which he himself made in 1873. It is true that the traces
preserved are very few, but this has in no wise injured the work,
because Herr Tsiller does not propose to show us how the Stadion
was in ancient times, but how it is possible for it to be now fitted to
be used for the Olympic Games.
By the plan of Herr Tsiller the indicated arrangements comprise
works of two kinds : the Stadion and the preparation of the square in
front of it On the one side and the other of the Stadion exactly at
the point where are preserved traces of the ancient wall will be erected
a wall of stones laid in the Pelasgic manner.
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At the two highest points of this work will be erected. two four-
.columned stoas of belvidere form, and upon these figures of wrestlers
from ancient statues.
At the inmost part of the stadion and upon the path leading to
Agios Elias will be erected a stoa for the king, the royal family, and
invited persons of note. The arena will be divided for the race-course
by a long lattice of marble. On each side at the entrance will be
erected the elevated place upon which the chief judge will stand.
The arena will be separated throughout its whole length by a parti-
tion of mable or of iron lattice work. Then will come a broad pass-
ageway and then immediately the benches of wood. At their highest
point, as in ancient times, will be a passageway. Stairways will run
across throughout the length of the passageways. Two very tall poles,
carrying standards, will be placed at each side of the entrance.
The preparation of the square in front of the Stadion includes : (1)
The leveling of the ground, the abolishment of all the existing coffee-
houses, and of necessity the removal of the houses. (2) A long stoa
with double prostyle of the Ionic form in which the athletes may rest,
disrobe, bathe, and anoint themselves for the contests. (3) Two great
fountains with reservoirs. (4) Four great statues. (5) A prostyle of
six very tall poles carrying standards and trophies.
The work of the renewal of the Panathenaic Stadion on account of
the International Olympic Games next April goes on vigorously.
Already the breastwork surrounding the entire level space has been
put in place and the preparation of the rows of seats is begun. At the
curved portion, the so-called ' sling or crown ' are 26 rows of marble
seats, but on the sides only three, and the remaining wooden ones will
be painted so that they can not be distinguished from the marble
ones. Then after some time the wooden ones will be replaced with
marble, since the noble George Averoff indicates that he will assume
all the expense.
The entrance of the underground colonnade through which the
contestants went forth is being excavated. Certain foundations were
found and to-day two bases. The works in the Stadion are expected
to be completed about the end of Dec. — AUantk, April 20; Aster, Aug.
12 ; Hedia, July 10.
PLANS OF THE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY.— The Archseolgical Soci-
ety has determined on laying bare the whole of the ground round
about the foot of the Akropolis. For this end it is necessary to declare
that the pieces of land belonging to private owners are required for
archaeological purposes, and a committee has been formed — including,
besides the Inspector-General of Antiquities, the University professors
N. Politis and Spyr. Lambros— which will see to the legal acquisition
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of these plots of ground. The complete plan would involve the removal
of the whole of the poor quarter inhabited by immigrants from the
island of Anaphe, the so-called Anaphiotika, to the north-east of the
Akropolis; but as new homes must be provided for the immigrants,
the full realization of the project is doubtful.
The Archaeological Society also thinks of enclosing with an iron rail-
ing the theatre of Dionysos and the Odeion of Herodes Attikos. It
is also proposed to remove the most interesting of the monuments
from the Kerameikos to the Central Museum for the sake of security.
I hope, however, that this project, which would altogether deprive of
all character the beautiful and, in its way, unique public cemetery of
ancient Athens, will not be carried out. It would be quite easy to
enclose the whole spot with an iron railing, and to protect the most
important memorials by covering them with glass and wire.
ATTICA.— Excavations in Attica.— Outside Athens there has recently
been a great deal of activity throughout Attica, and Greeks and for-
eigners have vied with one another in exploring ancient tumuli and
other sites. Not far from Marathon, at Kapandriti, the Swedish
archaeologist Wide has been at work. In a place named Kotrona,
about three miles or so distant from the village, he has discovered a
prehistoric tumulus containing ten graves. One of these was already
open and empty ; in the second, vases were unearthed similar to those
which came to light at Thorikos. The other tombs yielded eleven old
Mykeneean vases, two of pure gold, and three golden earrings. All of
these are truly artistic. It is to be noted that Kapandriti, where these
discoveries were made, occupies the site of the ancient Aphidna, which
lay nine miles to the east of Dekeleia. The citadel of this spot,
remarkable in Athenian history, is still preserved.
Not less interesting are the excavations instituted by M. Stais, In-
spector of Antiquities, near the village of Markopulo, in the district of
the ancient Deme Prasia, which belonged to the tribe Pandionis.
There is there a whole prehistoric cemetery containing graves which
fortunately have escaped rifling. Two-and-twenty of these have been
opened by M. Stais. Clay vases of great interest, both for their shape
and their delineations, were met with. They are over two hundred in
number, and have been presented to the Central Museum. Also very
remarkable are small bronze knives of quite peculiar shape ; the bot-
tom of the blade is narrow, and they gradually become wider towards
the end. They were clasp knives, as has been inferred from a hole
found on the lower part of the blade. The excavations had to be
suspended all last winter, as the spot was flooded. — Athen., Aug. 3.
ARGOS. — Excavations of the American School.— Dr. Waldstein reports
as follows : — " I am happy to say that at the close of this season we
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544 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Grxec*.]
shall have completely excavated the whole of the ancient peribolcit
including the buildings adjoining the ancient temples, — all those
within the sacred precinct. On the fields below the west slope, which
are outside the peribolos, including the l Stoa,' part of which we ex-
plored in our first campaign, I shall excavate as far as is necessary.
But I hope to complete one large field, and at least to determine the
nature of the buildings on this site. At all events, at the close of this
campaign I may venture to say that the excavations of the Argive
Heraion will be completed. I cannot refrain from quoting the opinion
expressed by Mr. Kabbadias, the General Director of the Antiquities
of Greece, and reiterated by foreign archaeologists, that ours was a
1 model excavation in Greece .' I shall now take steps to secure for the
School the sole right to excavate in the immediate vicinity of the
Heraion for the next five years. Last year, you will remember, we
discovered two beehive tombs, two of which contained rich finds of
Mykensean vases, terracottas, cut stones, etc. There are certainly many
more of these near the Heraion. The method for discovering them is
a simple one. Narrow trenches are dug along the whole side of these
rocks down to virgin soil ; as soon as the picks strike worked earth
interrupting the virgin soil, the dromos leading into the tomb is found.
I hope that in the future some attempts will be made to discover such
tombs.
" As I was kept at Rome on my way here by an attack of influenza,
I telegraphed to Mr. Hoppin to begin work according to the plan we
had arranged before he left for Greece. Accordingly, on March 22,
Mr. Hoppin began to excavate the south slope below the second tem-
ple at the point at which we had left it last season, and thus had charge
of the work for several days l>efore I arrived. During these days Mr.
Hoppin was not only able to make most valuable discoveries, such as
the two best preserved metope heads, but he pushed on the clearing of
the south Stoa for many feet, having to clear away about twenty feet
of superimposed earth for the whole length and width of the Stoa.
" The work we have this year done on the south slope (below the
second temple) appears to me, as I see it now, astonishing with regard
to the amount of earth that has been removed. This would not have
been possible, had we not at the beginning of last season found bed-
rock at the bottom of the little valley and for some way up, so that we
could place a continuous dump half-way up the hill on the south slope.
Our carts had thus to travel but a short distance before our eyes, and
we could make a continuous dump below the line of building found
on the south slope.
"At the close of the last season we had found the beginning of a
building, one side of which abutted on the southeast corner of what
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we have hitherto called the West Building, and which ran from east
to west along the south slope about forty feet below the top of the
foundation wall of the second temple, and parallel to it. We had also
cut in for about ten feet behind the supporting wall east of the West
Building, which separates this building from the second temple above
it We now continued to clear out this south Stoa. It was difficult
digging, as there was an average of twenty feet of earth to be removed
for its whole length, and large stones, drums of columns, capitals, and
blocks had fallen from the terrace above, all of which had to be
removed to the nearest point where they would not block the way for
excavation, and carefully deposited there. As I am now writing the
building is quite clear. It is a beautiful stoa, seventy-five feet in
length, with walls of most perfect Greek masonry, of which four and
even five layers are standing all around. Within, there are nine Dorio
pillars. All the pillar bases are in situ; three have the lower drum,
while one has two drums, the remaining four, together with the capital
in good preservation, having fallen immediately in front of this. At
the back wall (north) there are well worked pilasters, one to each
alternate pillar. The stoa is about forty-five metres long by about
thirteen metres wide. It faces towards the south (t. e., towards Argos)
and is approached by a continuous flight of steps. The temple above
it must have fallen in before this Stoa was destroyed, since, especially
in the western half, we found huge drums of the column from the
temple which had crashed through the roof, with geison blocks, and,
fortunately for us, also metopes and sima. The flooring was thus in
parts littered with fragments of marble from roof-tiles and metopes.
Among these were several pieces of sculptured metopes, and of the
sima, fragments of arms, legs, torsos of bodies, etc., all from the high
relief of the metopes, and two well preserved heads (one quite perfect),
with portions of three others. This stoa is perhaps the best preserved
of all the buildings which we have found, and is certainly one of the
most imposing I know in Greece.
u We also cut into the slope to the west of this stoa, but were soon
convinced that no ancient building stood here; we found, however, the
traces of a huge staircase which covered the whole slope on this side
leading up to the great platform of the temple. There was thus on
the south side of the temples facing Argos a magnificent approach to
the sanctuary ; and it is interesting to note that the line of buildings
and the access to them belonging to this period face to the south and
east, while the earlier buildings are massed on the west side. This cor-
responds to the change from the Mykenamn to the Argive supremacy,
"At the close of the last season, we had cut off the slope evenly
behind the back wall of that portion of the stoa which was then dia-
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covered. It was a huge cutting. Upon arriving this spring, I found
that the rain had washed away some of the earth from the side of the
cutting, and here appeared a portion of a column drum from the second
temple. How this had fallen there it is difficult to explain. Reluc-
tantly (for I knew there could be no building there) I felt bound to
dig here again. We thus had to cut away futher ten feet of earth to a
depth of over twenty feet and for a length of forty-five metres. All
this earth was filling for the foundations of the upper temple, and con-
tained a great mass of pre-4 archaic Greek ' objects, such as we had
found in previous years in this same filling. We also dug down to
bed-rock for the whole length inside (to the east) of the supporting
wall before the West Building.
" Some interesting results appeared from this work. We were much
astonished last year when Dr. Washington found in the corner behind
this supporting wall and the back of the south Stoa wall Mykena?an
graves such as have been found at Salamis I could only explain this
to myself by the supposition that this site was outside the earliest
peribolo8. We now found such early walls of the Mykemean period
here, together with some such graves, and a great number of vases and
small objects outside these early walls.
u Such walls also appeared on the whole west slope, north and north-
east of the West Building, where Mr. Rogers had charge of the work,
and where we have cleared the whole site clown to bed-rock. We can
now say with confidence that nothing remains unexcavated within the
ancient peribolos.
" We have now attacked also the fields to the west and southwest,
outside the peribolos walls, where in exploring during the first season
we had traced a large stoa and conjectured that there was a Roman
temple. This conjecture was a happy one in so far a* in the field
below, immediately to the west of the temple and bordered by the
stream (Eleutherion) on its outer (northern and western) sides, we have
found buildings of the Roman period, namely, an extensive and com-
plex system of Roman baths. This is interesting also in its bearing
upon the whole nature and function of the sanctuary.
•l The other large field I shall excavate as far as possible, and shall
especially do my best to enable our architect to make plans of the
buildings.
"A few words about our finds. In this respect we have been as
lucky as ever. I have already referred to the metope fragments and
to the heads. These latter correspond to those we had already found
and belong to the metopes. They are worked in a vigorous manner,
and are still of such careful execution that I believe even those of the
Parthenon can hardly rival them in this respect. One head of a youth
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with a helmet is in perfect preservation, even the tip of the nose re-
maining intact We shall now have a large number of fragments at
Athens, and we may hope to be able to piece some together. At all
events the sculptures coming from this temple built by the Argive
Eupolemos, with Polykleitos as the sculptor of the temple statue, are
among the most important specimens of the great art of the fifth cen-
tury before Christ.
"From the filling to the second temple we have about seventy-six
baskets full of vases, terracottas, bronzes, etc. Though a great part of
these came from the dry rubbish used to fill up the platform, I am
more and more convinced that in the earlier periods there was some
sacred building or great altar on the site of this temple. The early
Mykenrcan walls along the slopes belong to these, as well as most of
the finds which were votive offerings. We have again found here a
number of Egyptian objects, including several scarabs. Of smaller
objects, gems, and terracottas, this year has given a very large harvest.
" We have found several inscriptions, — some of the Roman period ;
but the most important epigraphical find, perhaps, of the whole ex-
cavation, is a bronze plaque about eight inches square with eleven
lines of bustrophedon inscription in the earliest Argive characters.
Mr. Rogers probably will undertake a preliminary publication.
" I have the photographer Merlin here now, who is taking views of
the buildings and the sites, and I shall proceed to make arrangements
with Mr. Tilton (architect) for the most adequate form of publication.
" I shall do my best, and Mr. Tilton promises to use all his energies
to assist me to put into the printer's hands the first volume," contain-
ing the introduction, the architecture, and possibly the sculpture, by
the autumn of 1896. — Fourteenth Annual Report of Manag. Comm. of
the Am. Sch. of Class. Studies at Athens, 1894-95.
DAP^NI. — The Mosaics. — In the immediate neighbourhood of Athens
lies the mediaeval convent of Daphni, celebrated for the mosaics with
which its church is decorated. The readers of the Athenaeum are aware
that the Greek Government and the Archaeological Society of Athens
have undertaken to save these mosaics. Carefully detached from the
walls by a Venetian artist of the name of Novo, they were replaced
after the most injured portions of the structure had been rebuilt.
Several of the ancient mosaics, now restored to their old positions, will
be found copied and described by M. Millet, of the Ecole d'Ath&nes
in recent numbers of the Greek Archaeological Journal One of those
lately replaced is the so-called Anastasis, the descent of the Saviour
into the lower world for the rescue of those confined there, a repre-
sentation which accords with the tradition of the Eastern Church at
Easter. The place in the church of this beautiful mosaic is on the
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648 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOGF. [Okbec*.]
right of the entrance from the western door, at a height of 5 m. from
the ground. It is 3.15 m. high and 2.28 m. wide. Ludwig Thiersch,
of Munich, who studied the picture forty years ago, considered it one
of the finest works of the Byzantine school. A highly interesting fact
is that some time ago, when certain modern additions to the narthex
were pulled down, its western wall was found to be enriched with two
mosaic pictures hitherto unknown They are symmetrical semicircu-
lar works, one of Joachim and Anna, the other of the seizure of Jesus
on the Mount of Olives. The latter is the more interesting, and it is
also the more recently brought to light. It covered the right-hand
portion of the western wall of the narthex. Singularly animated are
the figures of the Saviour, of Judas, and of the Roman centurion.
Judas's physiognomy is exceptionally sympathetic ; he is giving the
Saviour no kiss, but is laying his right hand vehemently on His
shoulder. The centurion holds his staff towards Jesus.— Athen., Aug. 3.
DELOS. — Excavations of the French School. — In the last campaign the
principal aim was to lay bare the part of the town adjacent to the
harbour, as we possess in this quarter a Greek Pompeii, so to say,
covered with a huge layer of earth, the removal of which is destined
to enlarge our knowledge of the domestic life of the Greeks as well as
to yield objects of art. A considerable portion of the ground adjoin-
ing the harbour has been turned up, and commercial warehouses and
private dwellings have come to light, so that we can not only draw
up the plan of a Greek house, for a knowledge of which we have
hitherto been pretty well dependent on Vitruvius, but we have also
gained posession of real artistic treasures. The dwellings at Delos are
in other respects well preserved, and they were not merely decorated
with wall paintings and mosaic pavements, but also contained works
of sculpture, some of which were statues of the owners of the buildings,
while some were ideal works or copies of famous masterpieces. The
best of the pieces of sculpture discovered up to the present time are a
marble figure of a woman of the Roman period, in the best state of
preservation, and a beautiful replica of the Diadumenos of Polyklei-
tos. The finds hitherto made encourage the hope that further exca-
vations may lay bare all the buildings lying round the temple as well
as the lower city, which was still a flourishing place in Roman days.
Occupied with the explorations at Delphi, the French cannot, for the
time being, proceed more vigorously at Delos; only after the
close of their excavations at Delphi will they be able to work sys-
tematically, and bring to the island the machinery now in use at
Delphi.— Athen., July 20.
Plan of the Harbour. — M. Ardoillon has been able to trace the com-
plete plan of the ancient harbour of Delos, which in the second cen-
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[Geekck.] ARCHJEOLOOWAL NEWS. 549
tury b. c. formed the chief commercial emporium of the Mediterran-
ean. The harbour consisted of two basins, the one for pilgrims, the
other for merchants, called the sacred and the profane. The mer-
chants' harbour was divided into two basins, corresponding to the
two quarters on land, one on the north, the other on the south of the
sanctuary, the one consisting of docks and warehouse quays, the other
of shops and bazaars for traffic. — Athen-> Aug. 31.
DELPHI.— Date of Rebuilding of the Temple. — At a recent meeting of
the Acad6mie des Inscriptions, M. Homolle read a paper on the date
of rebuilding of the temple of Delphi, as revealed by the French
excavations. The foundations of the western face and the south-
western corner show traces of an earthquake, subsequent to the build-
ing of the Alcmaeonidse, in the tfixth century. Many of the courses
are constructed of pieces of moulding and fragments of a triglyph
from the eastern front, which (as is known) was of marble. That side
of the temple, therefore, must have been overthrown, and the debris
utilized for the new building. Even the original foundations of that
side have disappeared: all that now remains shows that the building
was erected at one time, and according to a uniform plan. None of
the portions of architecture that have been discovered can be assigned
to a date earlier than the fourth century. Consequently the temple
must have been destroyed and rebuilt towards the end of the fifth or
the beginning of the fourth century. Also from the inscriptions dis-
covered at Delphi, the conclusion can be drawn that very extensive
works were going on from about 350 to 330 b. c. These inscriptions
relate to every part of the building — from the prodromos to the opis-
thodomos, from the outer portico to the inner cella. An inscription
at Athens, combined with a passage in Xenophon, show that an
appeal was issued by the Amphictyons to all Greece for subscriptions
towards the rebuilding of the temple in the year 371 and 368 b. c. If,
then, the temple discovered by the French is a monument of the
fourth century, it follows that Pausanias, when describing what
existed in his own time as a work of the sixth century, must have been
wrongly informed. And a literary question of the first importance —
nothinglless than the credit to be given generally to the statements of
Pausanias — arises from the discussion of what seems at first only a
problem in archaeology. — Acad., Oct. 5.
Discovery of Sculptures. — It is reported from Delphi that reliefs have
been found representing Herakles shooting the Stymphalian birds, the
fight with Antaios, a part of the Centaur fight and the rare represen-
tation of Herakles slaying a sea monster with reference to the freeing
of Hesione. These reliefs show that they adorned the front of the
" skene " as in the theatre of Dionysos. — Atlantis, July 6.
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550 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Greece.]
Yesterday was reported the finding of a poros statue representing
probably Athena, unfortunately without a head. The stone bears
traces of coloring. The style of the work suggests the poros reliefs of
archaic style found on the Athenian Acropolis. The ruins of a
marble lion were also founcj. — Hestia, May 26.
ELEUS1S.— The Inscriptions. — The Council of the Archaeological Society
has recommenced the excavations there, and intends to clear the
whole place within the year. Not much remains to be done, inas-
much as the greater portion of the site has already been laid bare
under the intelligent superintendence of M. Philios, whose name will
remain inseparably connected with Eleusis. M. Philios has proceeded
further with the study of the sculptures and inscriptions derived from
the ruins, and I cannot resist making mention of his communications.
One of these, read in the spring before the French Archaeological
Institute, is devoted to the personnel of the Eleusinian priests The
inscriptions prove that there were as many men as women. The men
were the hierophants, the Keryx, the Dadouchos and the so-called
hrl P<ofi<a; the women consisted of the female hierophant the Demetra,
the hierophant (female) of Kore, the Dadouchusa, and the Hiereia.
All were chosen in equal numbers from the family of the Eumolpidai
and Kerykes.
In another paper M. Philios discussed the following inscription : —
Kal <ro<f>trj tcAeivov teal <r€pLVov <f>avropa (?) vvktwv,
t A770C9 Kal K 0/3779 yvbv bpqs irpoiroXov,
os ttot€ Savoo/iaiw dAeetvuiv hfov 3.$€<rfiov
bpyia Kal ifrv^v e^ecaoMrc warpy,
Kal TcAcras avi<j>rjv€ Kal fjparo #cu6*os Ofioiov
Eu/x.oA.7ru> ttwvtw Kal KeA.eu> £a#e<p,
AwrovlSrjv T€ ifivrj<r€v dyaKkvrov 'Avraivtvov,
This stone probably relates to the same person who is mentioned in
the inscription first published by Chandler (c. 1. a., hi. 713). Boeckh
conjectured that this last inscription, in which also there is mention
of a hostile raid upon Eleusis, refers to the Heruli who invaded
Attica in the year 267. But since the emperor who was initiated by
the Eleusinian hierophant is called Antoninus in the new inscription
— a name which was not assumed by any emperor later than Helio-
gabalus — it is extremely probable that Marcus Aurelius is the
sovereign intended, and it may be plausibly conjectured that the
Sauromata? mentioned in the inscription are the Costoboci, who,
according to Pausanias, penetrated as far as Elateia in 167 a. d., and
were driven thence by Mnesibulus. The writer of this letter here
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[Okkkck.] ARCHMOLOGICAL NEWS. 551
conjecturally identified the Sauromatse with the Costoboci when he
was favoured by M. Philios with a copy of the inscription some
months before. — Aiken., Aug. 3.
Inscriptions.— In the Eph. Arch., 1894, pp. 189-212, A. N. Skias
publishes forty-two Inscriptions from Eleusis. These are very frag-
mentary, chiefly votive or dedicatory. Nos. 1, 2 (=CIA J4225,
Suppl. p. 105), 3, and 4 are interesting on account of their archaic
letters. No. 10 is an account of expenses for building and repairs.
No. 36 is a decree of " later Roman " times.
Discovery of a Tomb with Rich Contents. — At Eleusis a tomb has been
discovered, important for the variety and richness of its contents.
Around the skeleton of a woman buried in it (probably a priestess)
lay numerous objects of female ornament, amongst which were some
very finely executed earrings with amber globules, some brooches in
bronze and iron, many rings in gold and silver, and some bronze
bracelets. The rest of the contents of the grave consisted of some
seventy vases of various forms, three Egyptian scarabsei, and a
statuette of Isis in ivory. These last objects point to some relation
between the Eleusinian mysteries and Egypt, as indicated a short
time ago by M. Foucart. — Atfien., Oct. 12.
Dp8covery of a Painteo Tablet. — In the excavations being made at the
expense of the Archaeological Society and under the direction of the
Ephor, M. Skia, in Eleusis, there has been found a painted tablet of
baked earth, having a rectangular form and terminated by a beautiful
gable. This work, which is reckoned to be of the fourth century
before Christ, is by an eminent painter of that epoch, and has four
female figures of which the coloring is remarkably preserved. At the
basis of this offering, which from a casual examination appears to
have been* used with reference to the Mysteries celebrated there in
antiquity, the inscription is preserved, 4 Minion set it up.' To this
find a great signification is given by the experts, not only on account
of its beautiful workmanship in general, but also on account of the
evident position which its representations hold with reference to the
Eleusinian Mysteries, concerning the form and nature of which we
have no certain knowledge yet. — Atlantis, June 8.
Discovery of an Urn. — The Ephor of Antiquities, M. Skias, while
overseeing the excavations at Eleusis, found a beautiful urn, unfortu-
nately in fragments bearing the customary representation of Eleu-
sinian urns, that of Demeter, Kore, and Triptolemos. This urn bears
the subscription in letters plated with gold :
ArffiT^rpia ArjfArfrpa avtOrjKt.
The urn was gilded in many places but the gold has been worn off
through time. It is of the fourth century b. c. — Hestia, May 23.
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552 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, [G*kko«.J
Representations of Triptolemos. — A third communication of M. Philios
is taken up with the representations of Triptolemos. Starting from
some reliefs found at Eleusis, and comparing them with other sculp-
tures and vases, he came to the conclusion that Triptolemos was always
depicted as sitting in a car drawn by winged dragons. There is only
one exception, the standing figure of Triptolemos occurring on a relief
discovered several years ago in the little church of St. Zacharias at
Eleusis, and preserved in the Central Museum at Athens; for M.
Philios identifies as Triptolemos the youthful personage placed between
Demeter and Kore, although others take him for Bacchus, and Bcet-
ticher considers him a herdhoy. Inasmuch as the drapery of Kore
on this relief resembles that on other monuments of the fourth cen-
tury, among them some obviously related to Praxiteles, M. Philios
agrees with Robert von Schneider that this type of Kore should be
referred to Praxiteles, and he goes on to conjecture that Praxiteles in
his famous works represented Kore as bearing not a torch, but a crown.
This would seem to be the reason why Kore in the Praxitelean group
that, according to Pliny, was placed in the Servilian Gardens at Rome,
was taken for a Flora, unless, perhaps, for Flora of the MSS., Cora
should be read. Assuming that the youth of the Eleusinian relief is
Triptolemos, M. Philios has compared the figure with the Hermes of
Praxiteles and with the head, found at Eleusis, of the so-called Praxi-
telean Eubuleus. To the head of Hermes that of Triptolemos bears
no resemblance; on the contrary, there is a great resemblance between,
it and the so-called Eubuleus. They have in common the dreamy
look of the eyes and the characteristic peculiarity of the arrangement
of the hair. Relying on this, M. Philios holds that the so-called
Eubuleus represents a replica of the Praxitelean Triptolemos, but he
is not inclined to object to a simple identification of it with Triptolemos
without reference to the Praxitelean type, a view advocated by Kern.
Another idea is also put forward by him. The head of Eubuleus has
unmistakably a look of portraiture, and recalls the head of Alexander,
and it might be taken for an idealized head of the Alexandrian period.
But, curiously enough, the description by Plutarch of the portrait of
Demetrius Poliorcetes in many points agrees with the characteristics
of the head of Eubuleus, and it is not impossible that it may be an
idealized head of Demetrius Poliorcetes. — Alhen.> Aug. 3.
EPIDAUROS. — It is a shame that the Archaeological Society has this
year abandoned the idea of completing the excavation of the Stadion.
The discoveries made there lead us to hope that in it we possess the
only Greek stadion which remains in perfect preservation. Not only
three rows of marble seats have been found there, but also the apheri*
and the goal, together with the little pillars in the meta and the other
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remains. Local hindrances stand in the way of further excavation,
especially the difficulty of carrying away the earth, for which purpose
a small railway must be laid down — Athen., Aug. 3.
KALCHIS. — At Kalchis, in Euboia, the remains of a gymnasium of the
Roman period, and of a bath attached to the gymnasium, have been
brought to light at the depth of a metre in a spot named Bei Baksch6,
at the north corner of the town, during the laying out of a private
garden. They consist of a mosaic floor covering about 200 square
metres. All round it runs a border of thin stones, from which the
mosaic is separated by two green lines 0.40 m. broad. Under this
border run "clay pipes which appear to belong to an aqueduct. This
mosaic floor is connected with another space of 100 square metres
which is paved with white and black slabs. On this second space are
standing two walls of tufa between which were several small pillars.
Several logs and inscriptions of the Roman period have beep found
among the ruins. — Athen., Aug. 3.
LYKOSOURA. — At the same time M. Leonardos is at work at
Lykosoura ; and he, too, has obtained important results. The floor of
the ceUa of the temple of Despoina, which has been laid open to view,
is covered with an ancient mosaic of white and red stones. In the
centre are depicted two life-size lions in most lifelike attitudes. This
picture is surrounded with several ornamental borders, among them
one of spiral maeanders, another of a garland of rich twigs plaited
together, then follow again a maeander and a row of extremely pretty
large arabesques of flowers. The terrace of the temple is surrounded
by a supporting wall (divided into several large steps J which keeps
back the masses of earth that lie above the temple. On the height lay
the so-called Megaron, on which the festival of the goddess was cele-
brated, and the offerings of the Arcadians laid before her. M. Leon-
ardos finds himself upon the traces of the great altars of Demeter,
Despoina, and the Great Mother described by Pausanias, and he will
likewise excavate the long hall mentioned by Polybios, which con-
tained notable reliefs depicting gods and heroes. If to these architec-
tonic and sculptural discoveries inscriptions are added, the gain for
history and art will be most important. — Athen.} Aug. 3.
MYKENAI. — From Mykenai there is news of interest. M. Tsountas,
whose name is pretty well identified with Mykenai, has been digging
zealously. The excavation of the whole area of the ancient Akropolis
is the main aim of his campaign this year. An interesting relief of
poros stone has been found, a fragment of a metope from a temple of
the sixth century. On it is depicted a goddess who has not yet been
satisfactorily explained. The style is good, and the discovery leads
us to hope that other fragments of the same temple may be met with.
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554 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [Gbkkcc]
Of the remaining discoveries may be mentioned a gold ring from a
tomb. On the ring is depicted a man who is leading a goat to be
sacrificed. For the next few weeks M. Tsountas will turn his energies
to the excavation of a tumulus on the plateau of the Akropolis, which
promises to prove most interesting as it appears to be undisturbed. —
Atfien., Aug. 3.
MYKEN/EAN ART. — Two or three recent meetings of the Acad6mie
des Inscriptions have been devoted to a discussion of the art com-
monly called " Mykemean."
The subject was introduced by Dr. Helbig, of Rome, who is a foreign
associate of the Academic He began by contesting the received
opinion of acha»ologists, that this art originated in Greece, for the fol-
lowing reasons: (1) As M. Pottier has rightly observed, the Mykenaean
monuments undoubtedly made in the Peloponnese — such as the
funerary stelae, the Gate of the Lions, the fresco of the bull, &c. — are
far inferior in workmanship to those masterpieces among the movable
objects which might have been imported from abroad ; for example,
the dagger blades worked ad intarxio, the handles of the mirrors, the
gold seals, &c; (2) the technical processes, often of a complex nature,
which characterise Mykensean art — such as the intardo on metal, the
glass-ware, the pottery, the sculpture in gold and stone — are not to be
found in the authentic monuments of Hellenic art that immediately
follow the Mykena»an period;. (3) there is no connexion between the
Mykenaean style and that of the Dipylon, which replaced it in Greece
proper — it is impossible to admit that the same people who had pro-
duced the scenes full of life on the cups from Amyklai could have
degenerated to the geometric silhouettes of the Dipylon style ; (4) the
Mykenaean artists owe much of the elements of their decoration to a
maritime fauna, showing that fishing occupied an important part in
the life of the people. Such was not the case with the early Greeks.
The narrative portions of the Homeric epics prove that the Greeks of
that time did not practise fishing nor eat fish ; (5) Mykenaean objects
have been found in certain regions which the Greeks only reached
long after the end of the Mykenaean period — Egypt, Sicily, Italy,
Sardinia, Spain. According to the Homeric epics, the arts and com-
merce were in a condition altogether primitive : there are no indica-
tions that the Greeks exported the products of their industry.
All the facts relating to Mykenaean art correspond, on the other hand,
very well with what we know of the Phoenicians. It can be shown
that the elaborate technical processes mentioned above were known to
the Phoenicians as early as the fifteenth century b. c. The general
character of Mykenaean art resembles closely that of the purest Phoer
nician art. The Phoenicians were devoted to fishing from a remote
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antiquity: Sidon means " fishing village;" fishes were a prominent
object of worship in Phoenicia. It is certain that, in all the regions
where Mykensean objects have been found, the Phoenicians were already
settled, at least as traders. Finally, the indications supplied by the
Homeric epics about the industry and trade of the Phoenicians go
back to the Mykeneean epoch. After the tenth century, it was no longer
Sidon but Tyre that took the lead among Phoenician cities. But the
epic poets never mention Tyre, But Sidon only, which proves that they
followed a tradition older than the tenth century : that is to say, a
tradition dating from the Mykensean epoch. From all these argu-
ments, Dr. Hel big interred that the so-called Mykeneean art is nothing
else than Phoenician art of the second millenium b. c.
In the discussion that followed, MM. Bertrand, Perrot, Collignon,
Ravaisson, Dieulafoy, Philippe Berger, Br6al, H. Weil, De Vogiie\ and
Clermont-Ganneau took part.
M. Ravaisson demonstrated, from designs reproducing the human
figure according to the works of Mykensean art, that this art was based
on a principle altogether different to that of Phoenicia and Assyria,
and also to that of Egypt, a principle which is found nowhere outside
Greece, and which is characterised, above all, by an energetic effort to
express, by forms of excessive slimness and flexibility, the ideas of
heroic strength and activity. This peculiar aesthetic morphology,
which is essentially preserved through all periods of Greek art, finds
its most ancient expression in the objects discovered at Mykenai,
Vapheio, Spata, and Menidi. There are to be seen in museums, not-
ably at the Louvre, a large number of objects, hitherto little studied,
which are examples much more elementary of this manner of seeing
and working, and which take us back to a period far more remote.
Among the most striking and instructive of these may be cited the
vases painted in the style commonly, but improperly, called geometri-
cal, and ornamented with figures of men and horses of the strangest
character, which were discovered some while ago near agate of Athens
(the Dipylon), and at Cape Colias. But where is the cradle of primi-
tive Greek art to be looked for? Neither in Asia Minor nor in Egypt,
but rather — as M. Ravaisson maintained ten years ago— in the moun-
tains and valleys of Northern Greece which formed the most ancient
Thrace, where mythology placed the favourite residence, of the Hel-
lenic gods, where poetry described most of the heroes as being born,
where the beginnings of art as well as of science and philosophy are
laid, in the persons of Hyperborean Apollo (the patron of Athens) and
his priest Orpheus.
M. Collignon accepted, with some reservations, Dr. Helbig's theory. .
Phoenician influence is acknowledged about the fifteenth century b. c,
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556 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Grkkcjc.]
and also in the Homeric epoch ; why, then, should not this influence
be admitted to have lasted during the intervening period? Still, Dr.
Helbig's theory is too absolute ; and it seems to ignore the existence of
a native Achaean industry. Some of the precious things found at
Mykenai were undoubtedly made on the spot. He believed that there
was also a native pottery. This opinion he supported by various
technical arguments ; and he further argued that, if a Phoenician origin
for the pottery be granted, it would be difficult to account for the sub-
sequent development of the geometrical style. For the geometrical
style could be referred, to a certain extent, to the Mykensean manu-
facture.
M. Dieulafoy thought that Mykenaean art had borrowed largely from
both Phoenicia and Egypt, and indirectly from Chaldsea. It is in the
ornamentation that Egyptian influence predominates : the rosettes, the
palmettes, the maeanders are literal copies ; such a ceiling as that of
Orchomenos would not cause surprise if found among the tombs of
Thebes. The sculpture, on the other hand, suggested the seal-engrav-
ing of Chaldsea. But, beside these resemblances, there are also dif-
ferences strongly marked, which attest the share that the inhabitants
of Greece, of the Archipelago, and of the coast of Asia Minor took in
the elaboration of Mykencean art. Moreover, between Mykenai and
Sidon there was something more than contact and borrowing : there
was union so frequent and close that the average type of the Greek
population became changed — from blonde to brown.
M. Perrot gave his reasons for continuing to maintain the commonly
received view. M. de Vogu6 offered some observations almost entirely
favourable to Dr. Helbig's theory. — Acad., July 20.
MYKENyEAN STUDIES. — The Jahrb. d. k, d. Arch. Intf., 1895, pp. 114-
127, contains Mykensean Studies /, by Chr. Belger (9 cuts). Attention
is called to the paved wagon road from the Lion's gate to the upper
citadel, part of which exists near the N. E. corner of Schliemann's
excavations. This road ig at least coeval with the Lion's gate and the
ring of stone about the graves. The way to the lower city about the
W. side of the ring of stone is not older than the ring itself and the
Lion's gate. The ring of stone was a " stylized " fyu'yicos Aiflcuv, com-
posed of a double row of slabs set firmly in the ground, across which
was laid a third set of slabs. These last rested on wooden bars, to
receive which square notches were cut in the upper edge of the up-
right slabs. A similar construction is found in the graves within the
circle. The space within the upright rows of slabs was left hollow,
the material found there having merely sifted in between the slabs or
fallen in after they were removed.
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MYKEN/EAN PROBLEMS.— The excavations of the present year at
Mykenai show that the fortress was enlarged on the eastern side and
that this enlargement was contemporaneous with the building of the
large underground drain. A careful examination of the northern wall
upon the south makes it possible to determine the limits of the early
enclosure. Such an enlargement seems to have been required not
merely by the increased population of Mykenai, but also for the pur-
pose of more effective defence. A similar enlargement took place on
the western side, as was believed by Adler, several years ago. This
later enlargement upon the western side enclosed the circular ring of
graves which formerly stood outside of the walls. The double ring of
slabs which enclosed the graves seems to have been erected for the
purpose of supporting a mound which was to cover the entire group
of graves. This may not have been as high as the tumuli at Troy,
but evidence is hot wanting of its existence. The view advanced by
Belger in regard to the orientation of the graves and that their sculp-
tured faces were set toward the west seems to be an arbitrary assump-
tion unsupported by what is known of the religious ideas of the
Mykenaeans and rendered improbable by the position of these graves
with reference to the fortress. — Tsountas, in Jahrb. d. k. d. Arch. Inst.}
1895, p. 143.
OLYMPIA. — The Curtios Festival at Olympia.— The great event of the
month to those interested in archs&ology has been the recent festival
held at Olympia in honor of Prof. Ernst Curtius's eightieth birthday —
an anniversary which, it will be remembered, was celebrated with
much 6clat in Berlin on the 2d of last September. It was decided then
to postpone the celebration at Olympia until the following spring, that
being a better season of the year for visiting Greece. To the archaeol-
ogical world it seemed a peculiarly happy idea to meet at Olympia in
honor of the venerable savant who had been the means of bringing its
long buried treasures to the light again, after so many centuries of
oblivion. Accordingly, the gathering at Olympia yesterday to witness
the unveiling of the bust of Curtius included representatives from many
nations and of various branches of art and letters. From an early
hour in the morning the sacred Altis was thronged by an immense
orowd of country-folk, who, in their gay costumes, grouped pictur-
esquely about under the trees on the surrounding slopes, made up a
scene which vividly brought to mind the descriptions of the ancient
gatherings at Olympia. In the middle of the large central hall of the
Museum, with the gods on either side and the beautiful Victory of
Paionios behind, had been placed the draped bust of Curtius, a work
of the Berlin sculptor Schaper, being a copy in Pentelic marble of the
one which ten yje$rs ago was presented to Curtius by his friends and
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558 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHMOYjQGV. [G»ek£k.]
admirers on his seventieth birthday, and which now forms one of the
greatest ornaments of the quiet house in Berlin. The inscription upon
the pedestal of the Olympian bust runs as follows : . " Ernst Curtius
— EPNE2TOS KOYPTIOS. Von Freunden und Verehrern gewidmet
am 2ten September, 1894. *H kXXrjviKrj Kvfiiprqvi*: rifirjq cpckcv IvOafe
The exercises were opened by Prof. Wilhelm Doerpfeld, First Secre-
tary of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute at Athens, who,
in a speech of masterly eloquence, gave a rapid sketch of Curtius's
work at Olympia, and in conclusion called upon those present to joift
with him in crowning this latest of the Olympic victors with the crown
of wild olive. He then withdrew the light covering which hid the
bust, amid great applause. M. Kavvadias, General Ephor of Anti-
quities in Greece, then spoke in the name of the Greek Government,
accepting the bust, and dwelling at length upon the great services
which Curtius had rendered to the world of art and letters. Other
speeches followed, notably that of M. Homolle, Director of the French
School at Athens, whose graceful tribute both to Curtius as a scholar
and to German achievements in archaeology, was much appreciated.
Wreaths of laurel were presented by Prof. Percy Gardner, in the name
of the British School at Athens and of the Society for the Promotion
of Hellenic Studies, and by Mr. Richardson in the name of the Amer-
ican School of Classical Studies at Athens. Dr. Doerpfeld then crown-
ed the bust with a wreath of wild olive presented by Miss Jane Harrison
in the name of the Empress Frederick of Germany, and with a wreath
of laurel from the Crown Princess Sophia of Greece. In conclusion,
enthusiastic cheers were given by the audience for Curtius, for Greece,
and for Germany.
The ceremony at the Museum was followed by a banquet, under thfe
genial auspices of Dr. Doerpfeld, at which, besides the opening toast
to the King of Greece, whose warm interest in the work at Olympia
was dwelt upon by Dr. Doerpfeld, numerous toasts were proposed to
Curtius by the representatives of the different literary and scientific
bodies present. In conclusion, a congratulatory telegram to Curtiufc
was read aloud by Dr. Doerpfeld, to which the company responded
with applause, a copy being afterwards passed round for the signatures
of all present, to be sent to Berlin by post. — D. Kalopothakes in The
Nation, May 16.
Chronological Studies. — In the Archaeological Society of Berlin, at its
general meeting, Curtius, presented a plan of the terrace with the
treasure houses at Olympia and explained their history. The Kyp-
selidae began the establishment of treasure houses when they erected
the opisthodomos of the Heraion. About Olym. 50 when Sparta had
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[Turkey.] ARCHJEOLOOICAL NEWS. 559
regained her strength the Heraion became a sculpture gallery. Then at
the base of Mt. Kronjon were established a series of treasure houses
facing the altar of Zeus. Under the tyrants were established the
treasure houses of Megara and Sikyon. The treasure house of Kyrene
dates from the time of Battos the Lucky, about 550. The only treasure
house which dates earlier than the sixth century seems to be that of
Karchedon, but the booty of Himera may have been lodged in an
older treasury of the Syracusans — Arch. Ameig., 1895, p. 163.
RHODES. — M. Delamare,a French archaeologist, has been authorized
to excavate in the Turkish islands of Rhodes and Cos. — Athenaeum,
Aug. 25.
VALCIK.— At Valcik, in the territory of the Greek colonies in South
Russia, some seven Grecian statues have been found, which, together
with walls and pillars, evidently denote the site of a temple. The two
best-preserved statues seem to belong to Pan and Jupiter, though
identification is difficult, as both head and hands are wanting. The
former is represented sitting on a throne bearing an inscription of
thanksgiving. — Athenaeum, March 16.
TURKEY.
CONSTANTINOPLE. — A Russian Arch>eological Institute. -The Arch, An-
zeiger, 1895, p. 136, reports the foundation of a Russian Archaeological
Institute at Constantinople. Its administration is connected with the
Russian embassy. There are to be a director, a secretary, and a num-
ber of pupils. The government gives the school an annual grant of
12,000 rubles in gold. Professor Th. Uspenskij, of Odessa, has been
appointed director.
Repair of the Column in the Hippodrome. — A commission has been ap-
pointed in Constantinople for the repair of the well-known column in
the Hippodrome. — Athenaeum, Aug. 25.
Antiquities from Nippur. — Bedri Bey, of the Imperial Museum at Con-
stantinople, has brought to that institution the cuneiform and other an-
tiquities found at Nippur, in the Bagdad district — Athenaeum, Aug. 25.
The Earthquake. — According to the examination made by the author-
ities of the Greek patriarchate, the Byzantine edifices of Constantinople
have not severely suffered by the earthquake. — Athenaeum, Aug. 18.
B08NIA.
BUTMIR. — We quote from the Times the following report of a paper
read before the anthropological section of the British Association :
" Dr. R. Munro gave an oral address upon the neolithic station of
Butmir, in Bosnia. He said that, as a member of the Congress of
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560 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Bosnia.]
Archaeologists and Anthropologists held at Serajevo last August, he had
carefully inspected the station and its excavations. It was highly
probable that in former times it was partially a lake-basin. The dis-
coveries made in 1893 had led to an investigation under the supervis-
ion of M. Radimsky. A perpendicular section had revealed a series
of thin and more or less stratified, beds of clay, charcoal, ashes, and
mould, containing fragments of pottery, flint implements, stone axes,
and other remains of a primitive people. This relic-bed, four or five
feet thick, had a superficial area of about five acres, and lay. imme-
diately above a bed of fine clay deposited by natural causes prior to
the founding of the pre-historic settlement. The occurrence on this
clay of irregularly shaped hollows had led M. Radimsky to think that
they were the foundations of the huts of the first inhabitants ; but
more probably the people lived in huts built on piles, and the hollows
in the clay were diggings for making implements and for use in house
construction. Some burnt-clay castings of the timbers of which the
huts were constructed had been found in several places. The remains
were so abundant as to suggest the idea that the people of Butmir
carried on special industries for their manufacture. Stone implements
in the form of knives, arrow-heads, scrapers, axes, and tools were in
all stages of manufacture. The material out of which the perforated
axes were made was not found in the neighbourhood, and hence it
was supposed that they had been imported, thus indicating a knowl-
edge of division of labour among these early settlers. The pottery
had been ornamented with a great variety of designs, among which a
few specimens with a spiral ornamentation had excited much interest.
A special feature of the discovery was the existence of a number of
small clay images, or figurines, rudely representing the human form,
among them being one, a head of terra-cotta, disclosing art of a superior
' kind.
" Sir John Evans remarked that the settlers probably belonged .to
the transitional period between the age of stone and the age of bronze,
and came there on account of the existence of clay. It was, then,
reasonable to infer that the holes would represent the clay extracted
for working into implements and the walls of their huts.
" The president [Prof. Flinders Petrie] said that the character of the
holes in the clay reminded him of the sand-pits dug in Egypt. The
specimens of black pottery were absolutely identical with pieces he
had found this year in Egypt and at other times at Hissarlik and in
Spain. Hence it was probable that this people lived about 3000 b. c,
for the general manufacture of black pottery could be referred with
certainty to the definite period from 3300 to 3000 b. c. Metal was
then in use in Egypt; but it was quite possible that the people of But-
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([Pbancb.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NtiWS. 561
inir were living in the stone age while other peoples had reached the
metal age."— Acad., Sep. 28.
RUMANIA.
ADAMKLlSSi. — The Archseologischer Anzeiger, 1895," pp. 27-32, reprints
from the Vienna Neue FreU Prme of Feb. 14, an address by O. Benn-
-dorf describing a monument at Adamklim in that part of Rumania
called Dobrudja. The circular monument consisted of a cove of con-
crete adorned with relief slabs. These have been removed, and many
are now used as gravestones. The monument waa surmounted by a
gigantic trophy in stone. The whole was erected by Trojan's army to
•commemorate the defeat of the Dacians. A cut gives a view of the
monument restored.
FRANCE.
A NEW LAW ON MUSEUMS.— The French Minister of Public Instruc-
tion and Fine Arts has lately drawn up with the cooperation of the
Minister of Finance a projected law upon the civil status to be given
to the national museums. After having stated that art is not a mere
sumptuary matter but one of extreme utility and that museums in
France are indispensable centers of education, be shows how necessary
it is to rectify by some urgent reforms and at no expense of the budget
•the great poverty of the museums. He proposes to accord a civil
status to the museums with the expectation that this will result in
stimulating gifts and loans of private individuals or collective sub-
scriptions, which little by little would constitute a museum fund. The
State on its side would assist this fund by paying over to it its annual
endowment, renouncing the product of the sale of prints, casts, and
reproductions of all kinds, and turning over to the national museums
one-half of the product of the sale of the diamonds of the Crown.
At the head of these museums there would be placed a committee
consisting of eleven members named lor three years by the President
of the Republic, that is : Two Senators, two Deputies, a Councillor of
State, a Councillor of the Cour des Comptes, five members selected
outside the Administration among art critics and archaeologists, and
three ex-officio members, namely, the Director of Fine Arts, the Direc-
tor of the National Museums and the Permanent Secretary of the
Academy of Fine Arts. This committee would take charge of every-
thing relating to questions of art, in order to insure the proper use of
all the funds available for purchase.
The new law would come into effect January 1, 1896. — Chronique,
1895, No. 3.
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562 A M ERICA N JO URN A L OF A RCHMOLOO Y. [Frahcb.]
PUBLICATION OF NUMISMATIC M8S — It is announced that the Acad-
6mie des Inscriptions, at its annual meeting last week, voted 1000
francs (£40) for the publication of the numismatic manuscripts left by
the late M. Waddington. This refers, we presume, to his catalogue of
the coins of Asia Minor, concerning which Mr. Barclay V. Head writes
in the current number of the Classical Review : —
" This catalogue, the result of no less than forty years' study, is not
merely a description of M. Waddington's own collection, valuable as
that alone would be. It is a complete Corpus of the coins of Asia
Minor, in all the great European cabinets, each of which was in turn
visited and minutely examined by M. Waddington. Mionnet's read-
ings (frequently lamentably deficient) were all either verified or cor-
rected by him, and thoroughly reliable descriptions were added of
hundreds of coins which are as yet unpublished.— Academy, Nov. 24.
TWO CASES OF THEFT FROM THE CABINET DES ANTIQUES OF THE
BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE.— The collection of engraved stones, intaglios
and cameos of the Biblioth&que Nationale has been twice robbed since
the middle of the eighteenth century. The first and most important
of these robberies, has so far as we know, been unnoticed. In 1750,
Mariette published the engraved stones of this collection. The pre-
paration of a new edition of this work reveals the unexpected fact that
fifty pieces have disappeared since 1750. At first it seemed reason-
able to suppose, that this robbery took place at the time of the Revolu-
tion, but this hypothesis is inadmissible since one especially attractive
intaglio was replaced in 1779 by a copy. It seems more likely, there-
fore, that Louis XVI, at the beginning of his reign took intaglios from
the Royal library, as Napoleon did in 1808. Possibly he presented,
these to Marie Antoinette. If we may judge from the engravings of
Mariette, many of these missing stones were modern and only a few •
of archaeological value. The second removal of objects from this col-
lection took place on the 4th of March, 1808, when Napoleon ordered
the library to remit to him eighty-two pieces of which forty-six were
cameos and thirty-six intaglios. In 1832, fifty-eight of these stones
were restored to the Biblioth&que, but the remaining twenty-four are
still missing. If we may judge from the descriptions, a number of
these were probably modern.— S. Reinach in Chronique des Arts, 1895,
p. 97.
GALLO-ROMAN FIGURES OF EPONA.— In the Rev. Arch., March to April,
1895, M. Salomon Reinach gives the first instalment of a very thorough
study of Epona. In this article he considers only the Gallo-Roman
representations of a female equestrian, reserving for future articles the
consideration of feminine divinities associated with horses, but not
mounted ; also the inscriptions and texts which mention the goddess
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[France] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 568
Epona. The articles upon Epona in Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologie
and in Daremberg and Saglio's Dictionnaire des Antiquites make no
attempt to present a catalogue of the figures of Epona. In 1842
Duntzer was not acquainted with an image of the equestrian Epona.
. In 1843 Chassot de Florencourt mentions two. Becker in 1858 enum-
erates eight. In 1870 Lindenschmit knew of fourteen. In 1885
Weckerling brought the number of these figures to twenty. Finally
in 1893 Hettner counted thirty examples of the same type.
The catalogue made by M. Reinach brings the number up to sixty:
these he has drawn from various sources in France, from Luxembourg
from Germany, A us tro- Hungary and from Italy^ Having regard toA^
their provenance he ascertains that such figures are very common in
the neighborhood of Autun, Metz, Trier, Worms and Mainz; that is to
say in the eastern end of Gaul where Roman legions were stationed.
Thirty-four of these monuments are in stone; eight are in bronze and
one only in painting. The exact place where most of these monu-
ments were discovered is not known, but in two cases it may be
affirmed that they were placed in stables. In dimensions they are
always small and were probably placed above the doors or on the
interior walls of stables. In a single case only is this female equestrian
accompanied by an inscription. So far as the attitude of the goddess
is concerned, we find her fifty-one times seated upon the right side of
a horse moving toward the right and five times only on the left side
of a horse moving toward the left. In no case is the goddess seated
upon the left side of a horse moving toward the right. It seems cer-
tain that in antiquity women generally mounted their horses upon the
right side, but the evidence is not sufficiently exact to enable us to
assert th#t this was a universal rule. As for the texts one only bears
upon this point ; that where Tatius describes a painting representing
Europa seated upon the right side of a bull. So far as monuments
are concerned, those only can be considered as evidence which repre-
sent the woman as mounted upon a different side of the animal from
that in which it is moving. Such monuments are extremely rare, but
a number may be mentioned from Greek times down to the Renais-
sance in which a woman is mounted upon the right side of an animal
moving toward the left. In several cases the feet of the woman rest
upon a small foot-rest. This foot-rest did not disappear until the end
of the Middle Ages, the time when the side-saddle was introduced.
Side-saddles are said to have been introduced into England by Queen
Anne of Bohemia, wife of Richard II, 1338; but we know also, that
foot-rests were made as late as the Renaissance period.
The attributes of this goddess are a patera, two paterae, a patera and
a cornucopia, a patera and fruit, a cornucopia alone, a vase with fruit,
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564 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [France. J
a basket with fruit, fruit alone, a single fruit or flower and a crown.
In one monument only does the goddess carry an infant ; in several
she holds upon her knees one or more small animals; usually she is
heavily draped. The horse is frequently represented as trotting or
ambling; rarely as in repose; more rarely still walking and twice only
as on the gallop. Besides the animals which the goddess carries upon
her knees, she is in five cases accompanied by a colt ; in one instance
only by a dog and in one other by other horses.
PORTRAITS OF FRANCIS I. — A painter named Barthelemy Gu£ty,
surnamed Guyot, remained for a number of years in the service of
Francis I as his private painter. He had this position* before 1515
and preserved it until 1523. After he had lost his official position he
continued, however, to work for the King. To him should be at-
tributed a remarkable miniature of 1512, offered to Francis I on his
eighteenth birthday and containing exquisite portraits of Francis and
his sister. A second portrait on wood, belonging to the Chantilly
collections of the Due d'Aumale, was painted but a little later, perhaps
in 1514. It is perhaps attributable to a painter named It Matdot or
Mathdot, then in the king's service. — Gazette des Beaux- Arts, Feb., 1895.
JEAN PERREAL. — In the Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1895, p. 265, R. De
Maulde La Claviere writes upon Jean Perreal, in which he gives a good
account of the sculptor, adding valuable bibliographical references.
A DRAWING BY THE EARLY FRENCH PAINTER BEAUNEVEU.— A draw-
ing of considerable size and of great beauty in the Louvre collection is
reproduced on Plate 25-26 of the Monuments et Memoires and is of ex-
traordinary interest for the early history of French painting, combin-
ing as it does intiuences from the Italian Giottesque school and the
eariy Flemish school. •
Although the texts in French archives show that painting was in a
flourishing condition in France during the fourteenth century, the
contempt in which all Gothic work was held for so long and which led
to such wholesale destruction of works of this style has left but little
upon which the critic could base a knowledge of the style of the per-
iod. The drawing here published affords an amusing illustration of
the ignorance of this style which has been current until very recently.
It was part of the collection formed in the seventeenth century by
Baldinucci, purchased for the Louvre at Florence in 1806, which was
then regarded as a work of Giotto and was thus inscribed in the in-
ventories. Later on it was classified as by an ancient Italian artist of
the fourteenth century and thus it was catalogued until 1894. The
drawing is 65 cm. high and 326 mm. wide. It is done delicately in
ink on parchment with wash shadows ; certain parts are delicately
finished, others treated more sketchily. It certainly is one of the
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[Fbancb.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 565
most important drawings of any school of the fourteenth century.
Below is the death of the Virgin surrounded by apostles. Above is a
group of angels carrying the Virgin's soul up to Christ, who is receiv-
ing it in the clouds surrounded by angels and the blessed. Still higher
up is the celestial sphere in which the Father and the Son are en-
throned, while between them is the dove of the Holy Ghost and at
their feet kneels the Virgin whom they are crowning. To the left a
little below the group of the Trinity are two patron saints kneeling;
John the Baptist and St. Stephen. While there is considerable primi-
tive awkwardness in the separate figures, the conception of the whole
composition is remarkably fine. It evidently was a scheme for a large
composition to be carried out as a fresco upon the wall of some church,
although it might possibly have been for a large altar-piece.
M. Paul Durrieu who publishes a drawing in the Monuments et
Memoires T. I, pp. 179-202, enters into an interesting discussion on the
condition of French painting at this time. He illustrates it by a docu-
ment of the year 1838, which shows that the Flemish painter by name
John of Ghent living in Paris sells to a Countess of Artois, pictures
with figures in the Roman style " a ymaignes de l'ovraige de Rome; "
that is to say Italian works or works in the Italian style. The greater
part of the painters then working in Paris, came from the north of
France or from Flanders and they were in general, men familiar with
Italian art. Hence the double current, Flemish and Italian, in French
painting of this period, which is so characteristically exemplified in
the drawing published.
M. Durrieu, not satisfied with having shown this drawing to belong
to the French and not to the Italian school, attempts to still further
demonstrate its. authorship. He compares it to the remarkable and
famous illuminations of the psalter executed for the Duke de Berry
John, brother of Charles V, now in the National Library in Paris.
These illuminations of which there are twenty-four, consist of single
figures of the twelve prophets and twelve apostles in groups of two.
In these we see the same combination of Italian and Flemish styles.
He goes into a detailed study of drapery, of individual heads, of hands
and other parts of the body, showing such close analogy between the
two works as to make it improbable that they could have been executed
by different artists.
Now the author of the illuminations is well known. He was Andr6
Beauneveu and by him also are two illuminations in a Book of Hours
at Brussels. This painter, born at Valenciennes in the province of
Hainan t, flourished as early as 1360 in his native country, but shortly
after came to Paris to seek fortune at court and afterwards in the ser-
vice of the Duke de Berry. For both of these noble patrons, he ex-
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566 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOOF. [France.]
ercised his double faculty as a sculptor and as a painter and the
remarkable works which he executed between 1367-1390 and the
admiration which they excited at the time, show that Beauneveu was
one of the greatest artists of his time. It is an interesting fact, that
the two patron saints in the drawing would seem to connect it in some
way with the works then executed by the artist at Bourges for the
Duke de Berry, for St. Stephen is the patron saint of the Cathedral of
Bourges and John the Baptist was the patron saint of the Duke de
Berry. The writer closes with the conjecture that the original frescoes
for which the drawing was made, may some day be found upon a
high and narrow wall behind the altar in the chapel of the Trousseau
family in the Cathedral of Bourges, which already existed in 1405
and the proportions of which would admit of the presence of such a
painting, though at present it is entirely covered with a thick white-
wash.
SEPULCHRAL STATUE OF LOUIS DE SANCERRE, DIED 1402.— Louis de
Sancerre, Constable of France, who died in 1402, was buried at Saint
Denis in the chapel of Charles V. His body was removed with that
of the kings and other great personages in 1793 and his sepulchral
statue was placed in the Mus6e des petits Augustins. The reclining
statue of the Constable in fine white marble, represents him in full
armor with closed eyes and folded hands. The obliquity of the eyes
has been already noted by M. Courajod (Alexandre Lenoir T. in, p.
416) not only in the case of this statue, but of a dozen others made
between the years 1393-1497, which seems to indicate a peculiar
fashion amongst sculptors of that time, but in the present instance at
least, we know from the Chronique de Charles vi, Lib. xviu, Cap. 3,
that Louis de Sancerre suffered from strabismus. — Andre Michel,
Mon. el Mem. Acad. Inscr. T. I, p. 171. -
AIN. — The Grotto of the Hoteaux. — The department of the Ain again
attracts our attention by reason of important contributions to prehis-
toric studies. This grotto opens into the left side of the valley of
Furans in the territory owned by the commune Rossillon. In front
of it is a terrace 15 m. long which was excavated in 1894 by M. l'Abb^
Tournier and M. Ch. Guillon. The reindeer very abundant in the
lower strata appears less frequently in the central layers and disap-
pears altogether in the upper strata. Industrial objects are here found
in the period of the reindeer. Besides perforated shells and teeth and
an indeterminate sculptured object, there were found two engraved
clubs. One of these was found in the lowest stratum ; on it are still
distinguishable some circular engraved lines. The second is more
remarkable and contains an engraved reindeer in the act of bellowing.
In the lowest stratum there was also found a skeleton of a youth of
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[France.] ARCHjEOLOOIOAL NEWS. 567
sixteen or eighteen years.. All supposition of posterior burial is
absolutely inadmissible. The funerary furniture consisted of per-
forated teeth of a stag, several flints and a club. This burial is anal-
ogous to those at Menton, at Swordes and at Chancelade. — E. d'Acy, in
Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, p. 240.
ANGERS. — An interesting discovery was made on the 16th of Septem-
ber in the Cathedral of Angers during the work of restoration. Under-
neath the choir have been found the two coffins which seem to be
those of the good king Ren6 d'Anjou and of his first wife Isabelle de
Lorraine. King Ren6 was born at the castle of Angers, January 16,
1409, and died at Aix-en-Provence, July 10, 1480. His body was taken
to Angers and placed in a vault constructed in the Cathedral. This
artistic tomb was destroyed in 1794; only the vault remained intact
In the two coffins of lead placed side by side were found, with the
bones, a crown, a sceptre and a thin metal sphere. The coffins will be
covered again with lead and replaced in the vault. — Chroniqiie desArte,
1895, p. 310.
AVIGNON AND S. DIE. — We read with the greatest apprehension that
the French authorities, ever too exacting in that respect, intend to
44 restore " the famous Romanesqtie church of Notre Dame at St. Di6
in the Vosges. It is to be feared that this proceeding will not be less
drastic than that which befell that still more magnificent Romanesque
relic, the cathedral at Chartres, where two inches of the whole surface
of the building were cut away, with what results as to the reveals of
the windows and the mouldings it is easy to imagine.
The French journals assert that Avignon, hitherto so interesting on
account of its antiquity and the historic veracity of its streets and
public and private buildings, ranging as they do from Roman, Gothic,
and Renaissance times, is to be adapted, as Rome, Florence, and Paris
have been, to "modern requirements." It is actually proposed to
restore the very important Roman amphitheatre at Orange, the best
preserved relic of its class, in order annually to hold within its arena
performances of classic plays. That the time-injured portions of the
amphitheatre should be preserved and even repaired is certainly
desirable, and antiquaries who are artists will not protest against
revivals of the antique dramas, but lt restoration " is quite another
thing. — Athenaeum, Sept. 8.
BORDEAUX. — In the Melanges d'Arch. et (THist. for October, 1894, M.
Georges Goyau makes a careful study of ancient Bordeaux as illus-
trated in the Imperial Library of Vienna. This study is based par-
ticularly upon the Allan Major rive Oo&mographia Blaviana, published
in eleven vols, folio in 1662, by Jean Blaeu. A Dutch geographer,
Laurent Van der Hem, who lived at Amsterdam in the second half of
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568 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [France. J
the seventeenth century, possessed a copy of this Cosinographia, to
which he made so many additions that upon his death the work num-
bered forty-three volumes folio. From this important source M.
Goyau is enabled to amplify our knowledge concerning the ancient
Hotel de Ville, the Palais Gallien and The Piliers de Tutelle, and of
the lost sepulchral stone bearing the portraits and inscriptions of
Sabinianus and Tarquinia Fastina. All of these ancient monuments
are now published from the seventeenth century drawings of Van
der Hem.
BRASSEMPOUY. — At Brassempuoy near Pau have been found inter-
esting ivory statuettes dating from a period known as that of the
Madeleine and evincing the vigor and skilful execution of the very
early French sculptors. One is the hilt of a dagger representing the
torso of a woman ; another, rudely carved, seems to be a child's play-
thing. The others are broken, but two of these have a special interest
because of their bearing many characters resembling the known types
of Oriental art, especially Egyptian.— Chronique, 1895, p. 318.
CHASSENON.— At Chassenon in the Charente, the site of the old
Cassinomagus of the Romans, excavations have brought to light a
statuette, 60 cm. in height, representing a divinity of the Gallic
Pantheon in the attitude of a Hindu Buddha and wearing on his neck
the torque or Gallic necklace enlarged at the ends. — Chroniqite, 1895T
p. 318.
CLUNY MUSEUM ACQUISITIONS. —The Musee de Cluny has obtained
the famous reliquary in Limoges enamel which originally held the
bones of St. Valeria. It is a magnificent and elaborate example,
measures 26 cent, high by 15 cent, wide, is enriched with a figure of
the virgin martyr seated upon a throne, holding her head in her hand,
and wearing a sumptuously coloured and much jewelled dress, in-
cluding a mantle. The head, repousse and chiselled, is in high relief.
Other figures, including that of St. Martial of Limoges, add to the
interest of this relic. — Athen., Aug. 10, 1895.
Three very interesting wooden statues have recently been given to
the Cluny Museum. The most interesting is a statue of the Virgin by
an unknown German artist of the close of the xv century. She i&
enthroned, her head covered with a crown from which heavy tresses of
hair escape : her very full robe falls about her in a multitude of folds
studied with minute care. With one hand she turns the leaves of a
large Book of Hours, lying on her lap. With the other she holds the
infant Christ, whose body is bound by a kind of heavy wreath of flow-
ers and who tries to turn the pages of the book. The type of the
Virgin is that rather heavy gracefulness affected by the early German
artists, such as Albert Dtirer and Martin Schongauer.
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The other two statues of natural size represent the Virgin and St.
John and form part of a Crucifixion scene by some French sculptor of
the late Middle Ages. The Virgin draped in a full mantle casts down
her eyes sorrowfully and raises her hands in prayer. The simplicity
of this face contrasts with that of the Apostle, framed in a heavy
growth of hair and raised with an expression of deep grief. — Paris
Temps, in the Chroniquc, 1895, No. 4.
LOUVRE ACQUISITIONS. — Among the recent additions to the Louvre
are two magnificent Royal cups recently found in Egypt by Dr.
Fouquet. One of them bears the name of Sultan Bibars and the other
that of El Noiad. The inscriptions are well preserved and interest-
ing.— Chronique, 1894, No. 26.
The Louvre has obtained a great prize by purchasing a funeral
statuette in acacia wood, carved in a naturalistic manner, and there-
fore, probably, of extreme antiquity, representing a priestess of Minou,
standing upon a rectangular base which is covered with inscriptions. —
Athenaeum, Aug. 25.
The Louvre has just purchased for the department of Middle Ages
and the Renaissance a copper plaque of the fourteenth century, in
which are relief figures on a background composed of blue and green
enamels of great beauty. — Chronique, 1895, No. 9.
Bas-relief of Cardinal Francesco Audosi d'Imola. — The Museum of the
Louvre has recently acquired a bas-relief in bronze of Italian work-
manship of the Renaissance. It is a bust and profile of Cardinal
Francesco Alidosi d'Imola, Bishop of Pa via in 1505 and Ambassador
to Bologna 1508-1510.— Chronique, 1895, p. 286.
Statue of Athena with the Cist a.— In the Man. Great., Nos. 21-22, M.
Paul Jamot publishes for the first time a statue of Athena acquired
by the Louvre in 1880. This statue was found in Krete near Selino
on the southern coast of the Island. It represents Athena standing
clad in a long diploidion armed with the aegis, wearing a Korinthian
helmet and carrying in her left hand the cista in which she had en-
closed the infant Erichthonios. The youthful Erichthonios is here
represented in the form of a serpent whose head and neck emerge from
the cista. An interesting bronze statue in the museum of Leyden pre-
sents a very similar type to this Athena of the Louvre. In attitude
and expression the Athena of the Louvre belongs to the type known
as the peaceful Athena, and as the Athena Lemnia of Pheidias is con-
sidered as the source from which statues of this type have been derived,
Jamot enters here upon a criticism of Furtwaengler's identification of
the Athena Lemnia. He refuses to admit thatthe head in Bologna is
the head of an Athena or that it represents Attic workmanship. He
looks upon it as the head of an athlete of the school of Polykleitos*
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570 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [France.]
He prefere to consider that the Lemnian Athena wore a helmet. He
compares the present statue with the Eirene of Kephisodotos and finds
in this statue an earlier type. He suggests with some misgiving, that
this statue may represent the Athena of Demetrios mentioned by
Pliny, N. 11. xxxiv 76, and that the statue dates from the year 400.
Furtwaengier replies to Jainot's criticisms in the Classical Review ,
1895, p. 269. He shows that Jainot is not aware of the fact that
there are two statues in Dresden and that the head of the one belongs
to the torso, since the broken surfaces exactly fit one another, fracture
for fracture. Also that he did not notice the striking illustration of
the statue afforded by an ancient gem (Mtisterwerke, pi. xxxn, 2).
Jamot had asserted that the head is too small for the statue, but
Furtwaengier replies that the relation of the height of the face to that
of the whole figure is exactly the same as in the canon of Vitruvius,
of the Doryphoros of Polykleitos and in the female statues of the
Pheidian period. In addition to the examples, already cited in his
book, of female heads with short hair, he calls attention to two further
examples which represent Athena with even shorter hair than she has
in the Bologna head. First, an Attic krater in Vienna on which
Athena is represented without a helmet and with hair quite short, like
that of a youth. Secondly, a terracotta relief of the Glyptothek at
Munich, No. 39 E.
In reply to Jamot's assertion that the Bologna head is not Pheidian
but Polykleitan, Furtwaengier makes a counter assertion that Jamot is
ignorant of the most elementary differences that distinguish a Poly-
kleitan head from a Pheidian head. He admits that it is nowhere
expressly stated m that the Lemnian Athena was without a helmet,
though this may be inferred from a combination of the statements
made by Lucian and Himerius, whereas, the preference of Jamot for
a helmeted Lemnian Athena he declares to be merely arbitrary.
The Head of an Athlete. — In the Mon. et Mem. Acad. Inscr., T. I., p.
77, Etienne Michon republishes with fine illustrations the bronze head
of an athlete, acquired by the Louvre in 1870 from Beneventum. The
head reflects the style of Polykleitos, not however without some ad-
mixture of later influences.
LOUVRE. — An Early Medieval Ivory. — The Louvre has recently pur-
chased an early ivory carving of great interest and which is unique in
style and. subject. It is a thick rectangular plaque carved in the
tusk of an African elephant. The face of it, which is slightly oval,
is carved with a peculiar subject. Under an architectural dais, repre-
senting the buildings of the city, is a group of figures standing around
a central seated figure, which is considerably larger in size than all
the others. He appears to be a saint, perhaps an apostle repre-
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[Franck.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 571
sented as teaching ; it may be St. Paul preaching to the Gentiles. He
wears a nimbus, long hair and a pointed beard. His forehead is
broad and high and bald. While the type of this figure is somewhat
traditional and commonplace, the other figures grouped about him in
very high relief to the number of thirty-five, are far more original in
type. They are all listening with great attention, with their heads
bent forth and toward the speaker ; some of them carry tablets in their
hands ; all of them are bare-headed and wear long hair cut straight
across the forehead, and all also wear a short beard ; all of them wear
the same costume — a robe or tunic with folds and embroideries and
the chlamysfwith rich border fastened over the shoulder with a fibula.
On top of this scene, supported by piers of masonry on the front of
the relief, rises an ancient city, which can only be studied by examin-
ing carefully the top of the ivory. All the details are given of the
narrow streets, of the buildings with roofs covered with imbricated
tiles, with windows and balconies filled with spectators, all listening
to the preacher with greatest attention. What gives an exceptional
interest is the peculiar arrangement of these buildings. Their very
irregularity, their characteristic form, the vast semi-circular portico in
the centre, all show that some special city was intended. Perhaps it
was Rome itself. M. Schlumberger, who illustrates this ivory in the
Monuments et Memoires, T. I., pp. 16o-170, finds some difficulty in
assigning a date to this work. He places it in the ninth century,
while citing the opinion of M. Saglio that it is very much earlier, com-
paring it to the mosaics of the sixth and seventh centuries in which
are similar representations of towers and buildings.
The Ivory Harp of the Museum of the Louvre. — The origin of this
rare and curious instrument has occupied archaeologists ever since
it was presented to the museum by Mme. la Marquise Arconati-
Visconti. Upon it is a monogram composed of the letters A and Y,
interpreted by some as the first and last letters of the motto "Aultre
n'aray" of the Duke of Burgundy, Philippe le Bon, or the initials of
Antoine of Burgundy and his wife Isabelle of Luxembourg. A third
explanation is now proposed. This is suggested by the ornaments
composed of the fleur-de-lis, which suggest that the harp belonged to
two persons connected with the court of France, whose names began
with A and Y. In accordance with this condition we find in the
fifteenth century the Duke Amed6e ix of Savoy and his wife Yolande
of France, who upon the death of her husband became Regent of
Savoy. Yolande was a patroness of the arts ; she erected or deco-
rated numerous buildings and possessed artistic objects of all kinds
in great abundance. Inventories recently published show that many
pieces executed for her bear the letters A and Y. The' sources from
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572 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [France.]
which may be gathered the proofs for this interpretation of this mono-
gram are : Leon Menabrea, Chroniques aV Yolande de France, duchesse
de Savoie ; Vayra, Inventalres des Chateaux de Turin, de Chambery, etc. ;
Dufour et Rabut, Peintres et sculpteurs de Savoie. The workmanship of
the harp in the l^ouvre is that of the period of Yolande and in style
corresponds to the monuments of Savoy of the second half of the xv
century. This province remained for a long time French ; it was not
until the xvi century that it became Italian. The inscription En
Bethlean, found upon one of the reliefs, seems to indicate a Flemish
origin. Flanders at this time was renowned for the manufacture of
musical instruments and the majority of the best vocalists and organ-
ists also came from the provinces of the north. Three little basreliefe
representing the Nativity, the Massacre of the Innocents and the
Three Wise Men, recall the style of ivory diptychs and miniatures of
the xiv century. It seems, therefore, probable that the sculptor
repeated here an earlier model of a harp and made but few changes,
such as the monogram and the fleur-de-lis. — A de Champeaux in
Chrvnique des Arts, 1895, p. 108.
Ivory Carving of the Coronation of the Virgin. — In 1861 the celebrated
collection of Soltykoff was dispersed in Paris, when an ivory carving
of the xiii century, representing the Coronation of the Virgin, was
secured for the Museum of the Louvre. The origin of this group is
uncertain, but it seems to have been made during the reign of
Philippe in, le Hardi. In grandeur of conception and simplicity it
may well be compared to the finest of French sculptures of the
Cathedrals of Rheiras or of Chartres. The question naturally arose as
to whether the artist did not intend to make a more complicated
scene analogous to the basreliefs representing the Glorification of the
Virgin on the tympana of Gothic cathedrals. In 1878 at the Retro-
spective Exposition two figures of angels were sent to the Trocadero
by the Museum of Chambery. The distinction and style of these
figures and the character of their painted ornament made it appear at
the time that they probably belonged with the group in the Louvre,
and may have constituted the five-figured group of the Coronation of
the Virgin mentioned amongst the treasures of King Charles v, pub-
lished by Labarte. The municipal council of Chambery has now
presented the two angels to the Museum of the Louvre. M. Molinier
publishes the entire group with a fine photogravure in the Oazette des
Beaux Arts, 1895, p. 397.
MANS. — Two small pictures of great value, the Adoration of the
Magi, of the Florentine school of the xm century, and Cupid and the
lion, a Flemish painting on copper of the xvn century, by Franz
Pranck, have been stolen from the M useum of Mans. Suspicion falls
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[Franc*.] ARCHAiOLOQWAL NEWS. 578
upon two Englishmen who remained an entire afternoon in the gal-
lery where these paintings were exhibited. — Chronique, 1895, p. 310.
A Rearrangement of Paintings in the Louvre. — Since the beginning of
last year important changes have been undertaken in the galleries of
the Louvre. The Directors have had a double end in view: (1) to
improve the classification from the scientific point of view in sepa-
rating as far as possible schools which had hitherto been confused,
and in bringing together works by the same masters or artists belong-
ing to the same local group and period ; and (2) to give these works
greater value by placing them nearer the level of the eye and allowing
them more space. This work has been begun already with the
northern schools — Flemish, Dutch and German — which had been
mixed together without distinction. Considerable sf>ace has been
secured by transporting to the Muse6 de la Marine the series of the
ports of France by Vernet. The space occupied by these paintings
has been given to the paintings by Lesueur of the history of St.
Bruns, and the room which these occupied is now devoted to the
paintings of the German school, now for the first time separated in
the Louvre from the Flemish and Dutch schools. In the adjoining
room have been placed the paintings of the English school, of which,
unfortunately, there are but a few. The separation of the Flemish
and Dutch paintings has been attended with greater difficulty, owing
to the impossible character of the building ; nevertheless, progress has
been made in the direction indicated. The demand is felt, and may
soon be realized, to break the monotony of the long gallery by estab-
lishing in its place a series of small rooms like those at Dresden and
Munich. Next to the Northern School has been undertaken a rear-
rangement of the Italian pictures. One room has been already
arranged containing Italian pictures of all schools wp to the xv cen-
tury and Florentine paintings to the end of the xv century. The
later Italian pictures will be brought together and arranged by schools
in the first sections of the Grand Gallery. — Ckroniqt&r 1895, p. 87.
The Salon Carre of the Louvre. — Much has been written recently con-
cerning the rearrangement of the paintings in the Louvre in accord-
ance with the principle of historic sequence, some critics going so far
as to demand the suppression of the Salon Carr6. The Chronique de*
ArU takes a stand against this tendency on the ground that the great
majority of visitors to the museum are not interested in historical
study, but desire only to satisfy their sense of beauty. Some have
suggested that this Salon Carr6 should be devoted to the paintings
of one school. In reply to this it is remarked that this room has been
known for four centuries as containing a collection of masterpieces,
the most celebrated in the national collections. To place th^re the
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674 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [France.]
paintings of a single school would seem to give that school a pre-
eminence above all others. It is not impracticable that the museum
in general should be arranged upon historical principles, and a small
collection of masterpieces from various schools might still be exhibited
in the room which has been devoted to this purpose for so long a
period.
NANCY. — Important discoveries have been recently made by the
Archaeological Society at Nancy. Besides unveiling several centuries
of the history of Nancy, they have furnished a rich collection of
Merovingian armor of the vi century: shields, battle-axes, spears,
lances, not to speak of jewels in gold and silver and industrial objects
of bronze and pottery. The excavations have already brought to
light seventy tombs of warriors, women and children. These were
oriented toward the east, and the feet of the dead turned toward the
Meurthe. At the foot of each body there was found usually placed a
vase of coarse pottery. The bones were well enough preserved, but
crumbled easily. There have also been found bronze chisels, Gallic
coins, enameled glass, a gold piece of the time of Justinian and a
silver fibula. These objects have been transported to the palace of the
Dukes of Lorraine and placed in the Museum. — Chroniqae, 1895,
p. 195.
POMMIERS. — Excavations at Pommiers (Aisne) have uncovered a
necropolis comprising as many as three hundred tombs, dating from
the vn to the xiv century. — Athenaeum, Sept. 1.
PUTEAUX. — An interesting discovery was made by two workmen
engaged in digging in a park at Puteaux. Two well-preserved plaster
sarcophagi, each containing a body, were laid- bare. What is
described as a varnished terracotta vase, some bits of bronze and
glass and two Roman bronze medals were also found. — N. Y. Evening
Post, Jan. 26.
RHEIMS.t— In May, 1894, M.Alvin Beaumont and Mme. Lapersonne,
two dealers in antiquities, made an exchange, the latter giving the
former a religious painting upon copper in exchange for two Louis
xv armchairs and a Francois i box. . When the painting was cleaned
it turned put to be a very fine Visitation by Rubens. Mme. Laper-
sonne then went to the court to secure a nullification of the exchange.
After an interesting trial her application has been rejected. — Chronique
deaArta, 1895, p. 316.'
ROANNE. — Gallo-Roman Painted Vases in the Museum of Roanne. — In the
consideration of Gallo-Roman pottery the attention of archaeologists
has been largely taken up with that class of vases which has figured
ornamentation stamped upon them. This class of pottery, called
Samian, an economical imitation of vases in. precious metals, was
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widely scattered in the ancient world, and almost entirely took the
place of painted pottery. We may nevertheless recognize in Roman
Gaul some place where the ancient traditions of painted pottery
survive. Such a collection exists at the Museum of Roanne. These
vases come exclusively from local sources ; they were gathered from
the soil of the town of Roanne, the ancient Rodumna. It was in the
year 1844 that this museum was founded, but from that time until
1891 the collection had little importance. In 1893 thn museum
undertook methodical excavations in the Rue S. Jean, when some
sixty funerary vases were found, amongst which five were painted.
During the spring of 1894 a fruitful deposit of ancient antiquities was
found in the quarter called Livatte, the heart of the ancient Roman
village. These excavations gave proof of the great abundance of
painted pottery at Rodumna and at the same time of the poverty of
its inhabitants.
The Museum of Roanne now possesses sixteen of these painted
vases, besides many fragments. Although destined for ordinary use,
these vases are well made from a paste which is hard and homo-
geneous. In form there is no great variety. They belong to three
definite types ; the first is a bowl, the upper edge of which is strength-
ened by a rounded rim ; the second type is a sort of olln of globular
character, sometimes provided with a cover ; the third type is that of
an ovoidal guttus. All of these vessels are without handles. The
shape, although characterized by indisputable elegance, is not as
original as the decoration. From the point of view of decoration,
they may be divided into three classes: first, vases whose entire sur-
face is covered by designs of a brown color, unaccompanied by con-
centric zones; second, vases with designs of violet brown color
between concentric zones of red or brown; third, vases without
designs other than the zones of red or brown. All of these vases have
a primary coating of white. The first class, consisting of oll&, is
funerary in character, and forms a series analogous to the white
lekythoi of Attica; the ornamentation of these vases is strictly geo-
metrical. The second class consists of gutti and bowls, and presents
conventionalized floral as well as geometrical decoration. The third
class contains vases of the same character of paste and color as the
rest, but is decorated only by concentric zones It may be observed
that the upper zone is a single broad band of red or brown, and that
the lower band is divided by a central line of different color. Pottery
of somewhat similar character has been found in other parts of Gaul ;
such are the vases found by M, Rossignol at Montana, near Gaillac,
and those by M. Bulliot at Mont Buvray and by Dr. Plicque at
JLezoux. It is unnecessary to assume that these vases must be traced
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576 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHjEOLOQV. [Belgium.]
to an ultimate origin in Greece or the Orient, notwithstanding the
fact that Syrian influences upon imperial Gaul were very important.
The ornamentation being chiefly of a geometrical character, without
figured design, may very easily have had its origin in Gaul itself. —
Joseph Dechklettk in Rev. Arch., March-April, 1895, p. 196.
SAUVIGNY. — An article is published in the Magasin Piitoresque
(January 15) on the Zodiacal Column of the Church of Sauvigny
(Allier). It belongs to the xn century, and about half of it is want-
ing. On one of its faces are superposed extremely high reliefs, repre-
senting rustic scenes which depict the work of each month of the
year. Of these there remain only those belonging to August, Sep-
tember, October, November, and December. On another face are the
corresponding signs of the Zodiac ; on the third are fantastic animals.
Each of these neries has a rich decorative border of extremely suc-
cessful execution. — Chronique, 1895, No. 4.
TOULON. — Discovery of an Early French Painting. — In the Gazette des
Beaux Arts (3d series t. v., page 159) M. Pirate* describes the interest-
ing altar piece belonging to the Church of Six-Fours at Toulon, and
attributed to Jean de Troyas. M. Reinach calls attention in the
Chronique (1894, No. 41) to the deplorable condition of this work,
which will soon be entirely destroyed by dampness or worms. The
signature has almost disappeared. But M. Vidal has discovered near
Toulon, in the small church called des Arcs, a replica of this altar-
piece in perfect preservation. It appears to be not a simple copy, but
a repetition with important variations, containing two more compart-
ments. It has unfortunately suffered from brutal modern repainting,
which can be, however, removed.
VERDUN. — The Hdtel de Ville at Verdun, one of the most important
monuments of the xvn century in France, has been almost entirely
destroyed by fire, and, with the building and many, if not most of the
antiquities and works of art which it contained. — Athenaeum^ Sept. 22.
BELGIUM.
paintings BY RUBENS.— The Museums of Brussels and Antwerp
have each acquired recently an excellent example of Rubens. That
of the Brussels Museum is a sketch for the ceiling at Whitehall, and
representing the apotheosis of James i of England. This, sketch is
well finished, and it is suggested that Van Dyck collaborated in it.
That of the Museum of Antwerp is a small painting, one of the best
works of the master, representing the Prodigal Son. It was bought
for 45,000 francs.— Chronique des Arts, 1895, p. 186.
GALLO-ROMAN RELIEFS.— During the " restoration " of the xiv cen-
tury St. Medardus Church, at the little town of Werwick, in West
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Flanders, two obelisk-like monoliths were discovered in the earth
under the bench of the Kirkenvorstand, where they seem to have
been buried. This u find " is of great value, both archa?ologically and
historically, as it evidently belongs to the Gallo-Roman period. The
sculptures, in white marble inlaid with black marble, are executed
with extraordinary fineness, and represent two trophies made up of
groups of Roman armour and weapons. These bas-reliefs, nineteen
centuries old, belonged to the heathen temple which the Romans had
built in Werwick, which Caesar calls Veroviacum. The discovery has
settled a question long in debate among the Flemish antiquaries,
namely, to what deity the temple was dedicated. The sculptures
plainly indicate Mars, the god of war. There is some hope that
further' discoveries may be made. — Athenseum, Aug. 25.
MEMLING.— M. Emile Michel writes a sympathetic brief study of
Memling in the Gazette des Beam Arts (1895, January) k propoa of a
"charming little picture by the master recently given to the Louvre by
Mme. Andr6. It belonged to the collection of her husband, M.
Edouard Andr6, having previously been in the S6cretan and Herz
collections. It appears to be the pendent of the Marriage of St.
Catherine, given to the Louvre by M. Gatteaux, though its coloring is
less brilliant. In the foreground kneels the donor and over him
stands his patron saint, John the Baptist. They are placed in the
midst of a charming landscape, in the background of which three
miniature subjects are set: St. John on the island of Patmos, St.
George spearing the dragon and delivering a princess, and the woman
of the Apocalypse attacked by the seven-headed dragon and delivering
to an angel her new-born son. The preservation of the picture is
perfect, its style is exquisite and in the finest manner of the artist.
ANTWERP. — The Public Gallery of Antwerp with the assistance of
the city and of private subscriptions has purchased the famous picture
of Christ among the Angels, attributed to Memling and which has
attained considerable notoriety since the publication by M.A.J. Wau-
ters of Studies on Memling in 1893. The author pays especial attention
to the above picture which is a triptych and he proves satisfactorily
that it is to be attributed to this great master.— Chnmique, 1895,
No. xix.
GERMANY.
ROMAN WALLS.— The Archseologischer Angeizer, 1894, pp. 152-169,
contains a report of the Activity of the Imperial Limes-Commission from
the end of November, 1893, to the middle of December, 1894-
Eighteen persons conducted excavations, etc., in different places.
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578 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLQGV. [Germany.]
Numerous Roman camps and forts were investigated, and considerable
portions of the wall.
ACQUISITIONS OF ANTIQUITIES IN WEST-GERMAN COLLECTIONS.— The
Arckseologischer Anzeiger (1895, pp. 43-49) contains reports of Acquisi-
tions of the West-Gei-man Collections of Antiquities by H. Lehner. The
collections mentioned are those at Metz, Mengen, Rottweil, Konstanz,
Ueberlingen, Kalsruhe, Mannheim, Darmstadt, Hanau, Wiesbaden,
Speier, Worms, Mainz, Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Saarbriicken, Trier,
Bonn, Koln, Neuss, Elberfeld, Crefeld, and Xanten.
THE ROMAN LEGION ON THE RHINE. — In the Westd. ZeiUchrift,
(xn, 3) E. Ritterling writes on the revolt of Antonius Saturninus, in
89 a. d., to show how the Roman Legion on the Lower Rhine, on
account of its attitude on this occasion, received beside the title J\ia)
F^idelis) also that of D(omitiana), who was afterwards withdrawn on
account of the damnatio memorise that impended over Domitian.
This honorable title PFD was also shared by the Rhenish fleet and"
the auxiliaries. The writer transfers in consequence to the I^ower
Rhine the center of the struggle with Antonius.
AACHEN. — The Carlovingian Palace. — The following study by Reber
has appeared : Der Karolingische Palaatbau n. Der Palasl zu Aachen,
von F. v. Reber (AbhL d. Hist Kl. d. K. Bayer. Akad. d. Wunemchaft.
Bd. xx, s. 189 ff. The important remains of the Imperial Palace at
Aachen have again attracted attention, and especially its resemblance
to Byzantine models. F. v. Reber has been enabled to correct the
accepted drawings and explanations of C. Rhoen, especially in the
reconstruction of the atrium as a three-aisled hall. v. Reber's expla-
nations exhibit considerable knowledge as well as independence. —
H. Kedleter in Gorresf)ondenzbl d. Westd. Zeitsch. f Ges. u. Kunst.,
1893, No. 89.
BERLIN. — Additions to the Museum. — Among recent acquisitions are:
(1) an Adoration of the Shepherds, by the rare painter of Cologne
called the "Master of the Annunciation;" (2) a Roman head of a
young man called "A Marcellus ; " (3) an enamelled terracotta relief
by Luca Delia Robbia, on a blue ground, representing the Virgin and
Child blessing ; (4) another terracotta Virgin and a portrait of a young
man in high relief, by Andrea Delia Robbia; (5) a Florentine cassone
and a monumental door richly encrusted, executed for the Medici in
UlO.-Chronique, 1895, No 4."
Madonna by Albrecht Durer. — A half-length picture of the Madonna
attributed to Albrecht Durer, and discovered at Florence by Dr. Bode,
is now exhibited at the Royal Picture Gallery at Berlin. The paint-
ing, dating froni 1518, contains DCirer's monogram. — Athena&um,
August 4.
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[Germany.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 579
Renaissance Bronzes. — The Museum of Berlin has recently enriched
its collection of Italian Renaissance bronzes by the addition of a
number of important pieces, some of which have come from the well-
known collection of Henry Pfungst, of London. Mention may be
made of a bust of a man of early xvi century Florentine workman-
ship, a little bronze David by Donatello, being a study for the statue
at the Palazzo Marteili, a St., Jerome by Bertoldo, a horse which
recalls the studies of Leonardo for the equestrian statue of Sforza,
a group of Herakles and Nessos by Giovanni de Bologna, and an
allegorical group of Virtue Overcoming Vice, attributed to Benvenuto
Cellini. — Chronique des Arts, 1895, p. 301.
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU.-Rediscovery of an Altarpiece £y Hans Baldung.—
One of the chief glories of the Cathedral of Freiburg was formerly the
altarpiece by Hans Baldung, which Johann Schnewlin put up in his
chapel. This existed still in 1820, though no longer in the same
place when Heinrich Schreiber wrote his history of the cathedral.
He describes this altarpiece as consisting of a center and two wings.
In the center is a figure of the Madonna and Child carved in wood
and set against a painted background, on one side of which is repre-
sented a city situated by a lake and on the other a garden of roses.
The wings contained, on the inside, paintings representing the bap-
tism of Christ and St. John the Evangelist, on the outside the Annun-
ciation. In tracing the history of this altarpiece we find that at some
time between 1820 and 1835 it must have been taken apart, for in the
latter year Glanze made a Gothic frame for the inner paintings of the
wings. In the same year he made a Gothic frame for the paint-
ings upon the outside of the wings. These paintings decorated the
altar of a chapel in the cathedral until 1880, when they were removed
and put in charge of the cathedral authorities. From an oversight
they were omitted by the author in his catalogue of paintings of
Hans Baldung, published in 1894. Now he is able to announce that
the central portion of the altar, a fine wood carving with its painted
background, has been discovered, and is well preserved in its original
condition. Further notes of it will be given hereafter. — G. V. Terey
in Repert. /. Kumtvrissen., xvn, 6.
HANAU. — Roman Remains.— During the construction of a quay on the
Main Canal at Hanau, the northern end of the ancient Roman bridge
across the Main has been laid bare. Further excavations have ren-
dered it certain that there was a considerable Roman settlement in
the neighborhood of Hanau. Several interesting u finds " have been
made at the end of the Roman bridge, but by far the most important
is the large quantity of Roman coins. They constitute an unbroken
series of all the Emperors from Claudius to Antoninus Pius and his
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680 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Gkkmany.]
wife Faustina, covering the period from 41 to 161 a. i>. The greater
number belong to the years between 81 and 117. Prof. Wolff, who
reports on this discovery in Hessenland, says that the other articles
afford a close glimpse into the life of the Romans on the frontier.
" One feels profoundly moved," he writes, " in taking out of the river
articles nearly two thousand years old. We seem brought into very
near contact with the fourth Vindelitian cohort, which was posted
here to guard the passage of the Main, and which demanded from
every civilian who passed the bridge the obolus for the river-god." —
Athen&um, Sept. 15.
HEIDELBERG CASTLE.— In October, 1894, the Ministry of Finance
appointed a committee for the preservation of the sculptured figures
of the, Heidelberg Castle. Attention was called to the unfortunate
condition of these figures by a sculptor, Professor Heer, in 1886. Of
the sixteen figures of the Otto-Heinrichsbau,six were already so dam-
aged as to render their continuance upon the building a matter of
doubt. Worse still was the condition of the figures upon the Fried-
richsbau; of the sixteen figures in niches, only four were found suit-
able to be left in position. Accordingly, in 1891, orders were given
that eight of these figures should be replaced by new statues made at
Karlsruhe. For these new figures portions of the building itself had
to be restored, and the old figures were placed in the chapel of the
Fried richsbau. The committee contemplates also a proper restoration
of the interior of the Freidrichsbau and a restoration of its roof in its
old form, but fireproof. These proposals have the sanction of the
Grand Duke of Baden and of the Ministry of Finance, and it is
expected that an appropriation will soon be made for this purpose. —
Kumtchronik, Jan. 31, 1895.
The architect of the Castle. — Light is beginning to be thrown upon
the builders of the Otto-Heinrichs and Friedrichsbau of the Heidel-
berg Castle. Up to the year 1868 we possessed only the scanty
notice published by Leger in 1819, and based upon a letter by Chur-
furst Friedrich n, which mentions Jakob Haider as his master of the
works. Haider was doubtless the architect of the three towers on the
east side of the castle, which were finished just before 1556. A certain
Engelhard t was the architect for Friedrich n in 1545. Somewhat
later, on March 7, 1558, we find a contract of Otto Heinrichs with
Alexander Colins from Mechelen, a sculptor from Belgium. In this
contract architects from the Pfalz, namely, Caspar Fischer and Jacob
Leyder and a sculptor Antonj are also mentioned. The Otto-Hein-
richsbau is so thoroughly sculptural in character and so evidently
connected with contemporary decorative motives from the Nether-
lands as to leave little doubt that Alexander Colins was the author
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[Germany.] ARCHAEOLOGICAL NEWS. 581
of the work. For the Freidrichsbau, it has now been proved by
Professor Czihak that the architect was Johannes Schoch, who also
built the Rathaus in Strassburg. It has also been proved by Schnei-
der that the chief sculptor of this building was Sebastiam Gotz from
Chur.— Max Bach in Kunstchronik, 1895, p. 33.
INGOLSTADT. — The St. Moriz Pfarrkirche. — The parish church of St,
Moriz is the oldest and once the only parish church of Ingolstadt. It
was consecrated on the 22d of September, 1230. Recently there have
been found on the right wall of the choir some interesting paintings,
of which mention is made in a document in the Bishop's palace in
Eichstiitt. These paintings are arranged in two rows, the upper of
which is in a considerably damaged condition. The lower row is
easily deciphered, and represents fifteen scenes from the life of Christ,
which may be described as follows: —
I! The Birth.
2. The Adoration of the three Kings.
3. The Presentaion.
4. The Last Supper.
5. Christ on the Mount of Olives and His Betrayal.
6. Christ before Pilate.
7. The Mockery.
8. The Bearing of the Cross.
9. The Crucifixion.
10. The Deposition.
11. The Burial of Christ.
12. The Resurrection.
13. Christ in Hades and His Ascension.
14. The Coronation of the Virgin.
15. The Discovery of the Cross (?).
The upper row of paintings can be decided with difficulty on
account of their damaged condition, but apparently represents
scenes from the life of the Virgin. The period when these paintings
were made can be determined from their resemblance to the Munich
Bible of the Poor (1360 a. d.) and to the sculptures of the portal of
the Lorenzkirche and to the glass paintings of Konigsfeld. The paint-
ings at Ingolstadt, however, are finer than the miniatures in the
above-mentioned Bible. — Dr. Oscar Freiaer v. HCttenbach in
ReperLf. Kumtwtisen., 1894.
KARLSRUHE. — A painting by Grunewald. — The altarpiece of the parish
church at Tauberbischofeheim, a master work of Matthaus Grunewald,
has, after many wanderings, found a settled place in the picture gal-
lery at Karlsruhe. Some years ago it was in the hands of a private
collector, who, upon being told of its value by the Director of the
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582 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHJEOLOQY. [G«rmant.]
picture gallery at Kassel, allowed it to be exhibited as a loan in that
gallery. It was afterwards sold to its original possessors, the parish
of Tauberbischofsheim, and restored to its old place in the church.
The value of the work led to an arrangement with the Archbishop of
Freiburg and the parochial Kirchgemeinde for its permanent transfer*
ence to the picture gallery at Karlsruhe, where it will be accessible to
all students of art. A short time since the ecclesiastical authorities of
the Cathedral of Worms consented, on the like grounds, to the trans-
ference of an interesting altarpiece from the cathedral of the Paulus
Museum in that city. — Athenstum, Aug. 4.
Keystone cf a Cistercian Vault. — The Museum at Karlsruhe has ac-
quired a remarkable sculptured stone from the Marienkirche, formerly
the Cistercian Abbey Schonau near Heidelberg. This was the key-
stone of a vault. Of this formerly magnificent Abbey, there are now
but few remains. The dimensions of what appears to have been the
refectory, show that this Abbey was built upon no smaller scale than
that at Maulbronn. A careful examination of this key-stone shows
that the vaulting corresponds exactly with that of the Cistercian Abbey
Marienstatt near Hachenburg in Nassau. As Marienstatt was founded
in the year 1817, so we may assign to the Abbey at Schonau a similar
date. — Repert. f. Kvmtwi&sen., 1894.
KOBLENZ.— Roman finds. — At the dredging of the Moselle at Koblenz
a very considerable number of Roman copper coins, with the effigies
of several emperors, chiefly dating from the fourth century, have
recently been unearthed, in addition to some other interesting objects
of antiquity. It is to be regretted that a number of the finds were
carried off* by private persons before the authorities had the particular
place enclosed and* watched. — Athenaeum, Aug. 4.
KOLN. — Addition to the Museum. — The most interesting painting of the
Boudot collection was purchased at a sale for the Museum of Koln.
It has been attributed to an extremely rare and important French
painter of the close of the xiv century, Melchior Broederlem, whose
altarpiece for Champmol now at Dijon shows him to be the worthy
predecessor of Van Eyck. M. Pol Leprieur in a letter to the Chronique,
(1895, Nos. 1 and 2) describes this painting with great care and denies
its attribution to this artist. While granting that it may be by a
French hand, he concludes that it is under the influence of the school
of Koln. So much so that it would be possible to regard it as a pro-
duction of this school. It is a portable triptych. In the center is
seated God the Father, of youthful type and holding the crucifix over
which flies a dove. On the doors are the four evangelists, two on each
side.
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[Germany.] AkClUEO LOGICAL NKUS. 583
MAINZ.— No town on the Rhine heems to be so rich as Mainz in its
continuous yield of Roman antiquities. During excavations near the
former fish-pond a small Roman altar of very fine limestone has been
unearthed. The inscription is partly legible, and states that Q. Atilius
has paid his vow to the nymph, probably of the pond later known as
the Munsterweiher. The altar belongs to the first century after Christ.
A second votive altar, together with fragments of Roman gravestones,
was found a few days ago near St. Peter's Church. The altar is dedi-
cated by Lucius Majorius Cogitatus to the " Aufahian goddesses."
These Dea? Aufania? belong to the Gallic-German divinities, and were
venerated as benevolent unseen mothers. One of the gravestones found
on the same spot states that Gajulus from Virunum (Zollfeld, near
Klagenfurth in Carinthia), a soldier of the 22nd Legion, thirty-one
years in service, fifty-five years old, is buried here. — Athen,, June 8.
.MEMMINGEN— The Frauenkirche in Memmingen.— Since the year 1891 a
number of beautiful frescoes have been discovered which will be pub-
lished by Herr Stadpfarrer Brann. The entire church seems to have
been painted by a single artist. The decoration refers to the life of
the Virgin and corresponds in style to the work of the middle of the
fifteenth century. In fact, an inscription in the choir gives the date
1459. The church as a whole, belongs to one of the most remarkable
and interesting buildings in southern Germany. — Repert.f. Kunstwis-
sen., 1894.
MUNICH.— Important Discovery of Vases. — The collection of vases in the
old Pinakothek in Munich is being enriched by a large mumber of
fragments of Greek vases which have hitherto been neglected and
almost forgotten in the cellar of the Glyptothek. These represent all
varieties of Greek keramics, especially rare products of Ionian work-
manship, and are being arranged by Paul Arndt and his assistants.
Three of them are now published by Friedrich Hauser in Jahrb. d. h
d. Arch. Ind., 1895, p. 151 (taf 4). One of these presents the greater
portion of a bowl, unsigned, but which from its style may be attributed
to Andokides, whom Hauser now regards with Furtwaengler as the
founder of the red-figured technique. The second bowl resembles that
of Athenodotos published by Hartwig, Meixterschalen, Taf 14. Upon
the outside was represented apparently a combat of an Amazon over-
coming a Greek, and Herakles in contest with the Hydra. The third
bowl has lost the principal figures of the exterior, although the central
medallion is practically complete. From its style it may be attributed
to Brygos.
NEUSS. — Roman Remains. — The excavations and researches which are
now being made at Neuss by the authorities of the Rhenish Provincial
Museum appear to be successful beyond expectation. On the site of
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584 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY. [Gkrmany )
the Roman Xov&sium the foundations of a series of Roman military
works have been laid bare, with the traces of the ancient baths. In
one large building a quantity of coins and other articles of the age of
the first Calais have been found. A special compartment in the mus-
eum of the Rhine Province at Bonn is to be arranged for the exhibi-
tion of the portable objects that have turned up.— Ailien., Aug. 10.
REICHENHALL.— The National Museum of Munich has recently re-
ceived a rich collection of antiquities found near Reichenhall in Roman
tombs of the i and xi centuries, a. d Three hundred and five of these
tombs hare been opened and their contents are extremely interesting
for the-history of the customs of the Romans in Bavaria. — Chronique,
1895, No. 4.
RUPPERTSBERG IN DER PFALZ. — The results of the earlier excava-
tions taken in connection with those of 1894, may be stated as fol-
lows: 1. On the Hohburg a fortress of regular form of the time of
Trajan connected Alta ripa and the neighboring Heidenburg. 2. This
was destroyed at the end of the iv century. 3. Near this spot in
the La T6ne period there existed a Gallo-German settlement. 4. In
the v century the Romanesque population retreated to the Heiden-
locher of the neighboring Martenberg. 5. The burial place for the
population of the fortress and of the town lay to the north of the for-
tress. 6. From the fact that a section of the Martensii was stationed
at Alta ripa has been derived the names Martenberg, Martenweg, and
the frequently used name Martins, the modern Mertz — Berl PhiL
Woch., October 26 1-895.
TRIER — At Trier, on the same spot where, ten years ago, was dis-
covered the famous mosaic of the Muses, another mosaic pavement
has been found with numerous figures and inscriptions. The center
is occupied by a Medusa, and at each of the lour corners is represented
a quadriga with victorious charioteer. The charioteers are gorgeously
attired, are crowned, and bear palms in their hands. Each has his
name inscribed below, showing that the scene is not ideal, but of real
life. Their names are Fortunatus, Superstcs, Philinus, and Euprepes.
In the same city, while repairing the cathedral, in one of the towers
of the west front, were found two Roman inscriptions, one of which
is complete, and runs thus: " Modestiniana(e) Tas^illus Trever
f(aciendum) c(uravit)."— Athen., Oct. 12.
ULM. — The spire of the Cathedral at Ulm has been finished after
many years' delay ; it is said to be the loftiest structure of the kind in
Europe. — Athenaeum, Aug. 25.
ZELL BY OBERSTAUFEN. — (Bayrisches Allgau.)— In the little church at
Zell, forty minutes from the well-known summer resort of Oberstaufen,
there were discovered in the summer of 1893, a series of valuable wall
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[Switzkrlakd ] ARCHAC0L0Q1CAL NEWS 585
paintings. The chapel, formerly the parish church of Zell, was united
in 1375 with the Propstei of Oberstnufcn. In the beginning of the
xv century, it was raised and provided with the nave which exists at
the present date. In the early half of the xv century, the walls were
decorated with paintings. The walls of" the choir were entirely so
decorated, which paintings may be divided into three groups. The
north wall of the choir shows the life of the Virgin, sixteen paintings
and three rows. The south wnll of the choir shows likewise three
rows of paintings with the subjects taken from the lives of the apos-
tles. The triumphal arch contained a painting representing the last
judgment. The nave contains but few remains of paintings and the
ceiling was painted later in the rococo style. A more accurate account
of these paintings will be given by Prof. Dr. Endres-Regensburg in the
Allga'uer Ge*chicht*freund. — Dr. Oscar Freiherr Lochner v. Huttenbach
in Bepert.f. Kurastwmen., 1894.
SWITZERLAND.
BASEL.— The Munsterbauverein of Basel is preparing a volume on
the architectural history of the cathedral, with plans and illustrations,
which is to be published during the coming summer. It will consist
of five sections : 1. The history of the cathedral in the Middle Ages,
by K. Stehlin ; 2. The condition from the beginning of the sixteenth
century to the middle of the nineteenth, by R. Wackernagel ; 3. The
story of the "restoration" of 1850, by K. Stehlin ; 4. The laying out
of the minster yard and restoration of the cloisters in 1860-1873, by
K. Stehlin ; 5. The " restoration " of 1880 and onwards, by H. Reese. —
Athenaeum, April 13.
BERNE. — A RtNAioSANCE Chimney piece. — The Seeliinder Bote, a Berne
local paper, gives an account of a fine chimney-piece of the Reforma-
tion age lately found in an ancient kitchen at Nidau. • It is ornamented
with the armorial bearings of Nidau, Berne, Zurich, Strassburg, Muhl-
hausen, Basel, Constance, St. Gall, and Biel, that is to say, the Evan-
gelical cantons and the cities allied with then) in the middle of the
xvi century. The style is that of the transition from the Gothic to the
Renaissance, both styles being illustrated in different parts of the
work. The house in which it was found, with its strong masonry
Gothic windows, pointed doors, and solid crypt-like cellar, was prob-
ably at one time the Rathhaus of Nidau. The relic has been secured
by the Berne Historical Museum. — Athenaeum, Sept. 1.
HEIMENHOLZ. — A Roman watch-tower. — The foundations of a Roman
watch-tower, hitherto unknown, according to the Schweizer Freie Pres$e,
have been discovered in the Heimenholz, a wood near Rheinfelden.
It is the twenty-seventh in the series of similar buildings extending
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586 AMERICAS JOURNAL OF ARCHEOLOGY. [Hungary.]
from the Lake of Constance to Basel along the course of the Rhine. —
Athenaeum, Aug. 24.
INNSBRUCK.— In the Archseohgi*cher Anzeiger, 1894, pp. 125-128, E.
Reisch gives a report on the Meeting of Anthropologist* in Innsbruck and
the Lipperheide Collection. The meeting took place Aug. 24-28. The
study of prehistoric monuments occupied a prominent place among
the subjects discussed. The Lipperheide Collection of some 800 bronzes
was on exhibition during the meeting. It embraces nearly all branches
of Italo-Roman bronze work. Weapons and especially helmets are
well represented.
MORILLON. — The Duval Collection. — In the Archseolog'uscher Angeizer
(1895, pp. 49-54) is a catalogue by F. v. Duhn of the Duval Collection
at Morillon near Geneva. Fourteen works of sculpture are described
(with seven illustrations). Eleven so-called campana reliefs are also
mentioned.
ZUG. — We are glad to see that Prof. R. Rahn, of Zurich, has prevailed
upon the municipal authorities in Zug to renounce their cruel scheme
for the destruction of the lovely little church of St. Oswald, built in
1478. There was formerly, and perhaps still is, within this church a
wooden statue of the king on horseback, with the arms of England,
and the inscription, " Sanctus Oswald us, Rex Anglian, patron us hujus
ecclesiaD." There is also a painting of St. Oswald in prayer before the
battle, which formerly stood above the high altar, and is attributed to
Carlo Maratti. It is now in one of the aisles. — Athenaeum, July 21.
HUNGARY.
MOVABLE TYPE USED BY THE ROMANS.— The Foia diecesana, the offi-
cial paper of the bishopric of Caransebes, in Southern Hungary,
declares that an architect and archaeologist, M. Adrian Diaconu, has
discovered in the ruins of Bersovia traces of the use of movable types
by the fourth legion Flavia Felix quartered there. We should fancy
he is mistaken.— Athenaeum, July lo.
HARPILI. — A Gothic Shield. — M. Reinach communicated to the French
Academy of Inscriptions the facsimile of the center or umbo of a
shield found at Harpili in Hungary. This object in silver gilt is
worked repousse" and decorated with figurines of a peculiar 6tyle, be-
traying Graeco-Roman influence by the side of barbaric and especially
Scandinavian influence. M. Reinach called attention to the analogy
of this style to that of the famous silver caldron of Gundestrup. The
umbo of Harpili dates from about ->(X) a. i>. and must be attributed to
the Goths, who had descended from the borders of the Baltic Sea to
southern Russia and passed up the Danube. The caldron of Gun-
destrup may be two or three centuries later. — Chronique, 1895, No. 3.
Allan Marquand.
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